4.3 Billion Years Ago Mars Had An Ocean
No, that is not a picture of Earth. That planet is Mars. Apparently, what is now known as the Red Planet because of its barren red topography used to be wet and blue — it could even have had more water than the Arctic Ocean.
or years, scientists have been looking for definitive proof supporting theories of water on Mars, which naturally leads to the possibility of life. In December of last year, NASA’s Curiosity Rover finally achieved a breakthrough: they found actual underground water after drilling into a rock called Cumberland. Now, after sampling the water and performing tests checking the current ratio of heavy hydrogen compared to normal hydrogen, scientists have concluded something even more spectacular: Mars once had tons of water.
In the ancient past, we have some indications that water was flowing on the surface, but how much water was there? Are we talking about oceans, are we talking about small rivers, or a little rain?” asked planetary scientist Geronimo Villanueva in a video released by NASA.
Figuring this out required collaboration from three of the world’s most powerful telescopes; the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility and W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. All three were pointed at Mars to observe the remaining water molecules in the planet’s atmosphere.
With the new data collected, scientists were able to estimate that about 4.3 billion years ago, 19% of Mars’ surface, specifically on the northern part, was covered with water that went nearly a mile deep — Mars’ entire northern hemisphere was practically more immense than the Arctic Ocean. To top it all off, this discovery opens the possibility that Mars may have been habitable for a long period of time.
