Mars Kept a Secret for 3.5 Billion Years – NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finally Dug It Up

Mars Kept a Secret for 3.5 Billion Years – NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finally Dug It Up

Scientists using NASA’s Curiosity rover have discovered siderite—an iron carbonate—in the sulfate-rich rocks of Gale Crater, solving a long-standing mystery about Mars’ missing carbonates. This find provides powerful new clues about the planet’s ancient atmosphere and supports theories that it on

NASA's Curiosity rover discovered siderite on Mars, showing the planet once had a carbon cycle. It formed in watery conditions, trapping CO₂.. Some later broke down, releasing CO₂ back—proving Mars' carbon cycle was active but unbalanced. Similar deposits

NASA's rover identified carbonate minerals, offering new insights into the planet's past climate and habitability. Data from Curiosity suggest that large amounts of CO₂ have been trapped in the planet's crust. Image: NASA. NASA's Curiosity rover has been on Mars for almost 13 years. During that time, it has collected data that has allowed us to discover more about the planet's environment, especially in its past. It detected, among other element…

Data obtained by NASA's Perseverance rover revealed that the Jezero Crater on Mars contains minerals formed by water under the surface. Scientists say this discovery indicates that there may be more than one habitable period on Mars.

Curiosity Rover Finds Hints of a Carbon Cycle on Ancient Mars

Billions of years ago Mars "had a warm, habitable climate with liquid water in lakes and flowing rivers," writes Ars Technica. But "In order for Mars to be warm enough to host liquid water, there must have been a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," says Benjamin Tutolo, a researcher at the University of Calgary. "The question we've been asking for at least 30 years was where the record of all this carbon is." Tutolo led a new study of rock…

A new breakthrough in the study of the Red Planet brings scientists one step closer to an answer to the age-old question: was there ever life on Mars? The Mars rover Curiosity is worth its weight in gold. It has been driving around the surface of the Red Planet with great success since 2012 and […] More science? Read the latest articles on Scientias.nl .