Mars in ancient times could be like the earth from the ocean - the Russian newspaper

atmosphere of Mars in ancient times was several times more dense, and the planet itself was warm and humid. So that environmental conditions could be quite livable.
These conclusions were American scientists carefully analyzed the data from Mars Rover Curiosity.

According to experts, most of the air of Mars disappeared into space about 4 billion years ago.

“We recorded an unusually high proportion of” heavy “isotopes in the atmosphere of Mars. Since the light isotopes is easier to leave the atmosphere of the planet than the heavy, it can be considered a sign that the air is really the Red Planet” evaporated “in space” – said Christopher Webster of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Moreover, it seems, the loss of the atmosphere occurred in two stages: the first sharply disappeared biggest part of it, and then followed by a gradual “leak” in the coming years, according to RIA Novosti.

Loss Mars atmosphere have been linked to the disappearance of the protective magnetic field of the planet, writes Popular Mechanics. “At a very early stage, Mars lost its magnetic field”, – the expert says NASA atmospheric Paul Mahaffy. Because of this, the planet became vulnerable to sunlight, which could cause “leakage” of the atoms of the atmosphere. But why Mars lost its magnetic field remains a mystery.

Meanwhile, there is bad news for those who expect to find microorganisms Mars. On the Red Planet was too little methane gas, which could indicate signs of life.

ocean existed on Mars

Billions of years ago in the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet there was a huge ocean. This was stated by scientists at the California Institute of Technology, studied the images taken by the probe Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. In the photos you can see the “bed” with traces of an ancient ocean rivers flowing into it, according to FederalPress. It turns out that in the ancient Mars could resemble the Earth.

way

Mars rover Curiosity drove through the red planet its first kilometer. In the 335-day stay on Mars rover made a dash for 38 yards and passed a symbolic milestone. The exact distance that was almost Curiosity for the year is 1029 meters.