Mars used to have wet and dry seasons similar to ones on Earth
Ancient Mars had seasonal weather similar to Earth’s, with alternating wet and dry seasons, according to mud patterns discovered by NASA’s Curiosity rover. These seasonal cycles may have helped form some of the more complex building blocks for life, such as RNA and basic proteins.in the form of lakes and rivers, but it was unclear whether these came from one-off events, such as meteor impacts or volcanic eruptions melting ice, or whether they were tied to a more global weather cycle.
and minerals. Some of this material would have been washed away, but a more resilient mix of mud and rock would have remained, forming the ridges. “Only a seasonal climate – something with high frequency, geologically speaking – can produce those cracks in the mud that got fossilised,” says Rapin.Voyage across the galaxy and beyond with our space newsletter every month.
These rock formations appear to be about 3.6 billion years old. This is around the time we know that life first emerged on Earth, which means there should have been enough time for life to have emerged on Mars, too.
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