Earth and Mars Were Formed in Fundamentally Different Ways, Study Finds
The analysis of 17 Martian meteorites and Earth samples suggests only about 4% of the planets’ building blocks came from beyond Jupiter.
- A new Nature Astronomy study released September 25, 2026, reveals Earth and Mars formed through distinct processes, settling a long-standing debate by showing both pebble accretion and rocky collisions played key roles.
- Researchers from the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen cracked the mystery by analyzing 'volatile depletion,' a chemical signature where planets lose specific moderately volatile elements during pebble accretion due to extreme heat.
- Co-Lead researcher Haiyang S. Wang reports at least 75% of Earth's mass came from pebble accretion, while Mars formed oppositely: roughly 73% of its rocky material came from planetesimals, with only about 27% from pebbles.
- Mars likely had its orbit gravitationally stirred by massive protoplanets early on, potentially curbing its ability to efficiently accrete pebbles. This divergence explains why the two neighbors possess vastly different chemical compositions.
- This 'volatile depletion' fingerprint appears universal, as similar patterns emerge in polluted white dwarf stars. Understanding these formation recipes allows scientists to assess habitability of rocky worlds throughout the galaxy.
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The study reveals that, despite having developed in parallel and in contiguous positions, the Earth and the red planet depended on mechanisms of planetary formation in opposite proportions.
Scientists recreate the violent process that formed Earth and the Solar System
The Earth and Mars emerged from nearly the same cosmic "cradle," but they were assembled in fundamentally different ways. This is the conclusion reached by authors of a new study published in Nature Astronomy, who have reconstructed the planets' formation histories by examining chemical traces preserved over 4.5 billion years. The Solar System's Cosmic Construction Site The Solar System began to form approximately 4.6 billion years ago from a va…
Earth and Mars Were Formed in Fundamentally Different Ways, Study Finds
Earth and Mars may have formed through different mixtures of planetary building processes, despite developing side by side. Earth and Mars formed near each other about 4.5 billion years ago, yet new research suggests they grew through very different processes. “The most surprising result was that Earth and Mars appear to have formed in different [...]
Earth, Mars born from same cloud of gas and dust, yet formed differently: Study
Researchers at the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, investigated the formation of Earth and Mars. Their study revealed that Earth and Mars developed using different mechanisms despite forming from the same materials. They found that Earth's mass predominantly came from protoplanets, while Mars's mass primarily originated from planetesimals. The researchers analyzed volatile elements to understand the planets' formation processes better.
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