Ancient Mars Was Even More Earth-Like Than We Imagined

New finding from NASA ’s Curiosity Rover provide evidence that significant amounts of oxygen once permeated the atmosphere of ancient Mars . The Red Planet , it would seem , was more Earth - like than we opine .

Using the ChemCam cat’s-paw atop Curiosity , scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have discovered high-pitched levels of manganese oxide in Martian rock candy . The roamer made the discovery in mineral - fill cranny in sandstone in the Kimberley neighborhood of Gale crater . The presence of this chemical substance element suggests that high stratum of free - float O once existed on Mars , and that in addition to hold a fond climate and lakes of liquid water , this major planet was once quite Earth - like in price of its chemical composition .

“ The only direction on Earth that we bonk how to make these manganese material affect atmospheric oxygen or microbe , ” remark study lead author Nina Lanza in a statement . “ Now we ’re examine Mn - oxide on Mars and wondering how the heck these could have formed . ”

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

It ’s highly unlikely that germ produced Mars ’ Mn , but the proposition that they were produced by loose - drift O is totally sane . The researchers say that high - manganese materials like the ones discovered on Mars are n’t capable of form without copious amount of liquid weewee and O .

But where did all this oxygen come from , and where did it all go ? Lanza ’s team hypothesizes that O seep out of the planet ’s water and into the Martian atmosphere as Mars ’ magnetic field collapsed . Without a magnetic field to protect the surface from ionizing radiation , the mote within the piddle split into H and oxygen . Due to the relatively humiliated gravity on Mars , the planet could n’t hold on to the lighter hydrogen atoms , but the heavier oxygen atoms stayed put .

Over time , this atomic number 8 bled into the rocks , creating the rusty flushed dust that now covers its surface . Tellingly , it does n’t take much oxygen to create the cherry atomic number 26 oxide — but it does take a lot of O to mould manganese oxide . This means that Mars , for a clip , was quite oxygen - rich .

William Duplessie

And that ’s an exciting issue . Mars may have been habitable a billion years ago or so , so it may have spawned basic microbial liveliness ( we have yet to find any test copy of this , but we ’re still looking ) . Oxygen , which is necessary to sustain most terrestrial life , is used in cellular respiration and other biologic processes . Many authoritative classes of constitutional particle in living organisms contain O , including proteins , nucleic acids , sugar , and fats . It ’s possible that alien alien living might emerge without the welfare of atomic number 8 , but here on Earth it ’s been decisive .

Revealingly , Curiosity is not the only investigation to have found Mn on Mars . The Opportunity rover recently discovered gamey - manganese deposits at a site thousands of miles away from Curiosity , so this latest uncovering is not specific to Gale Crater . Moving onward , the researcher would wish to compare manganese bring forth by microbes to see how it differs from those produced by oxygen . Until more is known , nothing can be decree out .

[ Geophysical Research Letters ]

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