A photo from open sources
New data obtained using the Curiosity rover, indicate that the Red Plant once had its own atmosphere. But about a billion years ago it was destroyed a sharp and very strong increase in temperature caused, according to scientists, volcanic eruptions or space collisions. July 20, 2013, 18:01 To a team of specialists working with data Mars rover Curiosity, managed to prove that in the distant past, Mars was livable. Scientists came to this conclusion after isotopic analysis of gas samples collected on the planet. According to Cornell University employee Steve Squiers, a resident of the Earth could well drink water from the Red Planet. He claims that 4 billion years ago, Mars was not very different from our planet – its the atmosphere was much denser and the surface warmer and wetter than now. The results of the analysis were published in the journal Science. “We recorded unusually high proportions of “heavy” isotopes in the atmosphere Mars. Since light isotopes more easily leave the planet’s atmosphere than heavy, it can be considered a sign that the air is red the planet really “evaporated” into space. As it appears, two such episodes occurred: the abrupt disappearance of most reserves 4 billion years ago and a gradual “leak” in subsequent several periods, “explained Christopher Webster of the Lab Jet Propulsion NASA. Judging by the smaller proportion of isotopes in meteorites formed 3.7 billion years ago, moisture reserves and air disappeared around this time. Scientists believe that the reason strong volcanic activity or collision with a certain a space body the size of Pluto.
Mars Mars rover Curiosity
