Mars's climate is cold and dry from 3.6 million years ago

(Scientists have discovered air features on Mars 3.6 million years ago.

This work was carried out by a group of American researchers, who said that the thin atmosphere could have led to cold and dry climatic conditions on the planet.

This result plays a very important role because they help answer the question: How can the environment survive on Mars millions of years ago and how long can the surface water on the planet remain? ?

Details of the study were published in Nature Geoscience.

Scientists have calculated atmospheric pressure on Mars, based on ancient falling stars and dry riverbeds visible on today's Mars surface.

They used the data taken from a new Mars orbiter spacecraft to test the hypothesis Carl Sagan raised more than 20 years ago: that atmospheric pressure can be measured and recorded. based on the size of the smallest meteor holes.

Mars was cold and dry from 3.6 million years ago

Ancient Martian climate is deduced from the landscape of shaping lakes and riverbeds today. They also said that liquid water may have existed on the surface of the planet very early in its history.

However, a recent research result implies that Mars is not a fixed hot and humid world, but in some periods, it also exists a dry and cold climate.

On a planet with a dense atmosphere, small meteorites will be broken and ignited before reaching the surface. However, Aeolis Dorsa (a meteorite hole on Mars) only possesses a radius of 10 meters, proving that a small star could pass through a very thin atmosphere on the planet.

The research results also ask related questions.

'This work led me to think that the Martian climate was probably very cold and dry from the beginning - just like today's Antarctic dry valley. However, there is a lot of microbiological life in dry valley, so this work has not found any match about Mars habitat from the beginning, ' study author - Dr. Edwin Kite said.

Although this method of measurement has been raised two decades ago, only recently has it been possible to experiment thanks to the expansion missions of NASA's Mars spacecraft.

Professor Michael Manga, of the University of California, said: 'Air density controls climate. And the climate, especially the temperature, determines whether liquid water can exist on the surface. Their predicted air pressure is too low for water to survive. '

These results and research are partly causing controversy and doubt. However, the most recent study has shown that the climate on Mars millions of years ago can be predicted as an important part based on the evidence on the surface of the Red planet today.