Mt. Sharp Archives

NASA’s Curiosity rover captured this photo as it ascended the Martian mountain Mt. Sharp. A study proposes a new explanation for why Mars is a barren desert today, despite having many similarities to Earth. Credit Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Was Mars Doomed To Be A Desert? Study Proposes A New Explanation

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2025August 23, 2025

One of the great unsolved problems in modern planetary science is written on the surface of Mars.

Schematic illustration of our proposed carbon cycle on early Mars. Evaporation of water (pink shading) from subsurface pore spaces initially deposits siderite, which sequesters atmospheric CO2 (black downward arrow). Increasing levels of evaporation deposit Ca-sulfate and Mg-sulfate minerals. Wind-blown (eolian) sedimentation at the ground surface (gray dots) moves the location of evaporation and chemical sedimentation upward with time. After some time (white arrow), infiltration of siderite-undersaturated fluids (yellow shading) partially destroys the previously precipitated siderite, forming Fe-oxyhydroxides and releasing previous

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Carbonates Identified By The Curiosity Rover Indicate A Carbon Cycle Operated On Ancient Mars

by Keith CowingApril 20, 2025

Ancient Mars had surface liquid water and a dense carbon dioxide (CO2)–rich atmosphere. Such an atmosphere would interact with crustal rocks, potentially leaving a mineralogical record of its presence.

Mt. Sharp

Was Mars Doomed To Be A Desert? Study Proposes A New Explanation

Carbonates Identified By The Curiosity Rover Indicate A Carbon Cycle Operated On Ancient Mars

The Role Of Minerals In Prebiotic Evolution: Implications For Identifying Worlds With The Potential For Life’s Origin

Gen-EBM: An Energy Balance Model For Terrestrial Planets. Climate Multistability From Snowball To Post-runaway Greenhouse Climates

Astrometric Planet Search Around Southern Ultracool Dwarfs: V. Discovery Of The Exoplanet Candidate PALTA-1 b

Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Active Asteroid (101955) Bennu

SOPHIE And TESS Characterization Of Fourteen TESS Objects Of Interest: Nine Planetary Systems And Five Low-mass Stellar Companions