If you’ve been keeping up with what has been happening on Mars, you might have seen images of the Curiosity Rover’s destroyed and worn-down wheels. Mars’s harsh conditions have finally taken their toll after 12 long and productive years of scouting. However, this wear and tear has not been in vain, as it has given scientists new data about Mars during a period when it may have been habitable.
Since it landed on Mars, the Curiosity Rover has been exploring the Gale Crater. This crater, created about 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago, is likely the remnants of a dry lake. The lake is approximately 100 miles wide, roughly the length of Delaware. Since it used to be a lake, the site was perfect for soil analysis. The purpose of this research was to learn more about why there is no more liquid water on Mars, if it was possibly inhabited at any point, and if it could at least sustain life.
Recently, the Curiosity Rover discovered isotopes of carbonates, which are carbon-rich minerals, in the Gale Crater. An isotope is a version of an element, in this case, carbon, with a distinct mass. The carbonate isotopes recently found on Mars are unlike anything ever detected on Earth because of their extremely high density. This discovery is important because it helps scientists understand and form better theories about how and when Mars was habitable. The dense isotopes reveal that the red planet’s lighter versions of carbon and oxygen likely evaporated, leaving behind heavier isotopes that created these carbonates. For these dense isotopes to form, the planet must have experienced extreme evaporation, at least two to three times greater than Earth’s. This high evaporation rate would correlate to a much higher temperature on Mars compared to the frigid degrees rovers observe today.
This discovery reveals that at one point, not as long ago as scientists originally predicted, Mars’s temperature was high enough to evaporate light carbon and water isotopes much more efficiently than Earth’s. The definite proof that the ice on Mars was once liquid water shows that Mars could have sustained life in the past and might be able to in the future.
However, huge leaps in modern science still need to be made for humans to colonize Mars. While discovering these carbonate isotopes is a big step, these rovers continue to look for signs that could help us uncover more information about our planetary neighbor, such as underground water that has been unaffected by the cold climate change. Ultimately, the carbonate rocks are not liquid water, but their discovery helps scientists look in the right places if any is left on Mars.
