Researchers have provided numerous pieces of evidence that Mars once had water. And perhaps still does
Once upon a time, liquid water was abundant on the surface of Mars—oceans, lakes, and rivers—but it disappeared about 3 billion years ago; today, rovers explore dried-up lake beds and empty riverbeds. While some of Mars’s water is locked up as ice in the polar caps and as permafrost in the mid-latitudes, the rest of Mars’s water was assumed to have escaped into space. It was thought that atmospheric water vapor was destroyed by solar ultraviolet radiation, and Mars’s low gravity was thought unable to retain the hydrogen portions of this vapor, which would then be carried into space by the solar wind without the global magnetic field to protect it. Meanwhile, the oxygen portions of the vapor would have oxidized surface rocks, leading to the formation of the rusty-red planet we see today.
A Restless Moon: Scientists are studying the seismic and volcanic activity of Earth’s satellite
China’s Chang’e-5 mission returned evidence that as recently as 120 million years ago, the Moon had active volcanoes, and some may still be active. Another study found that lunar earthquakes are rare, with the most powerful, around magnitude 5.0, occurring near the surface. Unlike earthquakes on Earth, which last from tens of seconds to minutes, lunar earthquakes can last for hours, enough to damage or topple structures, destabilize launch vehicles on the surface, or disrupt ground operations.
The latest facts about our planetary neighbor, Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun and Earth’s closest planetary neighbor. Venus is the third-brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. Venus rotates slowly, in the opposite direction to most planets. Several Russian Venera probes have detected particles about a micron in length in the lower layers of Venus’s atmosphere—roughly the same size as a bacterium on Earth.
Jupiter’s Moon Io. Timeline of Exploration
Io, Jupiter’s fifth moon, is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. Io’s surface is dotted with hundreds of volcanoes, some of which spew sulfur plumes hundreds of kilometers into the air.
The Earth’s Crust Doesn’t Stop – Scientists Discover Old and New Continents
Scientists have discovered an unexpected new continent hiding beneath Greenland. Zealandia, thought to be a candidate for Earth’s eighth continent, has been almost completely submerged by the sea. The new ocean could split Africa into two continents. Doggerland: Before it was inundated by a tsunami 8,000 years ago, this landmass connected Britain and continental Europe. Archaeologists and citizen scientists have discovered a number of artifacts from Doggerland over the years, including a deer bone with an arrowhead and a fragment of a human skull.
Rising Arctic temperatures will impact global economy. Scientists monitor Arctic transformation under climate change
Scientists from the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry (GEOKHI RAS) have discovered a harmful increase in the biological productivity of remote Arctic lakes due to global warming. Scientists have discovered plumes of smoke that periodically appear in the vicinity of Bennett Island in the East Siberian Sea. This may indicate the presence of an active volcano and a tsunami threat to Arctic villages in Yakutia. As the ice melts, new shipping routes will appear, changing the global economy. Rapidly rising temperatures and melting ice in the Arctic will affect international shipping and coastal communities around the world.
A whole field of sulfur rocks, the latest discoveries on Mars and amazing photos
As the rover ascends, it moves along the Martian timeline, allowing scientists to study how Mars evolved from a planet that was more like Earth in the distant past, with a warmer climate and abundant water, to the icy desert it is today. The amount of frost on Mars’ equatorial volcanoes represents about 150,000 tons of water exchanged between the surface and the atmosphere every day during the cold season, equivalent to about 60 Olympic swimming pools. NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered crystals of pure sulfur on Mars.