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At least two-thirds of Mars' surface is more than 3.5 billion years old, and it could have been habitable 4.48 billion years ago, 500 million years before the earliest known Earth lifeforms; [4] Mars may thus hold the best record of the prebiotic conditions leading to life, even if life does not or has never existed there. [5] [6]
Conditions on Mars during its first billion years were dramatically different from the present day. Whether or not the conditions were once habitable depends largely on the volatile content, specifically water (H 2 O) and carbon dioxide (CO 2), of the surface.
In addition, remote sensing of Mars from Earth by ground-based and orbiting telescopes has continued across much of the electromagnetic spectrum. These include infrared observations to determine the composition of the surface, [87] ultraviolet and submillimeter observation of the atmospheric composition, [88] [89] and radio measurements of wind ...
A mineral grain from a meteorite preserved evidence that water was present on Mars 4.45 billion years ago, and it may have created hot springs habitable for life. ‘Black Beauty’ was found on ...
“Hydrothermal systems were essential for the development of life on Earth and our findings suggest Mars also had water, a key ingredient for habitable environments, during the earliest history ...
The solar day (or sol) on Mars is only slightly longer than an Earth day: 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. [185] A Martian year is equal to 1.8809 Earth years, or 1 year, 320 days, and 18.2 hours. [2] The gravitational potential difference and thus the delta-v needed to transfer between Mars and Earth is the second lowest for Earth ...
Aside from Earth, no planets in the solar system are known to harbor life. Mars, Europa, and Titan are considered to have once had or currently have conditions permitting the existence of life. Multiple rovers have been sent to Mars, while Europa Clipper is planned to reach Europa in 2030, and the Dragonfly space probe is planned to launch in 2027.
Unlike in the day vs. sol distinction, "Mars Year" has no unique Latin term. Start and End dates of Mars Years were determined for 1607–2141 by Piqueux et al. [ 2 ] Earth and Mars dates can be converted in the Mars Climate Database , [ 3 ] however, the Mars Years are only rational to apply to events that take place on Mars.