{"id":678733,"date":"2025-07-05T18:15:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T15:15:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-is-there-no-life-on-mars-rover-finds-a-clue\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T18:15:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T15:15:24","slug":"why-is-there-no-life-on-mars-rover-finds-a-clue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-is-there-no-life-on-mars-rover-finds-a-clue\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is there no life on Mars? Rover finds a clue"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a273814b6a40\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a273814b6a40\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-is-there-no-life-on-mars-rover-finds-a-clue\/#Brief_%E2%80%98oases\" >Brief &#8216;oases&#8217;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-is-there-no-life-on-mars-rover-finds-a-clue\/#Are_we_alone\" >Are we alone?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/despite-brief-oases-ma.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/despite-brief-oases-ma.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Despite brief oases, Mars was likely doomed to be a desert planet, a new study suggests.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/despite-brief-oases-ma.jpg\" alt=\"Despite brief oases, Mars was likely doomed to be a desert planet, a new study suggests\" title=\"Despite brief oases, Mars was likely doomed to be a desert planet, a new study suggests.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Despite brief oases, Mars was likely doomed to be a desert planet, a new study suggests.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Why is Mars barren and uninhabitable, while life has always thrived here on our relatively similar planet Earth?<\/p>\n<p>A discovery made by a NASA rover has offered a clue for this mystery, new research said Wednesday, suggesting that while rivers once sporadically flowed on Mars, it was doomed to mostly be a desert planet.<\/p>\n<p>Mars is thought to currently have all the necessary ingredients for life except for perhaps the most important one: liquid water.<\/p>\n<p>However, the red surface is carved out by ancient rivers and lakes, showing that water once flowed on our nearest neighbor.<\/p>\n<p>There are currently several rovers searching Mars for signs of life that could have existed back in those more habitable times, millions of years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, NASA&#8217;s Curiosity rover discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: rocks that are rich in carbonate minerals.<\/p>\n<p>These &#8220;carbonates&#8221;\u2014such as limestone on Earth\u2014act as a sponge for carbon dioxide, pulling it in from the atmosphere and tr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ing it in rock.<\/p>\n<p>A new study, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-09161-1\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> in the journal <i>Nature<\/i>, modeled exactly how the existence of these rocks could change our understanding of Mars&#8217;s past.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/nasas-curiosity-rover-4.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/nasas-curiosity-rover-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"NASA's Curiosity rover discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: rocks that are rich in carbonate minerals.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/nasas-curiosity-rover-4.jpg\" alt=\"NASA's Curiosity rover discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: rocks that are rich in carbonate minerals\" title=\"NASA's Curiosity rover discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: rocks that are rich in carbonate minerals.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                NASA&#8217;s Curiosity rover discovered a missing piece in this puzzle: rocks that are rich in carbonate minerals.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Brief_%E2%80%98oases\"><\/span>Brief &#8216;oases&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Lead study author Edwin Kite, a planetary scientist at the University of Chicago and a member of the Curiosity team, told AFP it appeared there were &#8220;blips of habitability in some times and places&#8221; on Mars.<\/p>\n<p>But these &#8220;oases&#8221; were the exception rather than the rule.<\/p>\n<p>On Earth, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the planet. Over long timescales, the carbon becomes trapped in rocks such as carbonates.<\/p>\n<p>Then volcanic eruptions spew the gas back into the atmosphere, creating a well-balanced climate cycle supportive of consistently running water.<\/p>\n<p>However, Mars has a &#8220;feeble&#8221; rate of volcanic outgassing compared to Earth, Kite said. This throws off the balance, leaving Mars much colder and less hospitable.<\/p>\n<p>According to the modeling research, the brief periods of liquid water on Mars were followed by 100 million years of barren desert\u2014a long time for anything to survive.<\/p>\n<p>It is still possible that there are pockets of liquid water deep underground on Mars we have not yet found, Kite said.<\/p>\n<p>NASA&#8217;s Perseverance rover, which landed on an ancient Martian delta in 2021, has also found signs of carbonates at the edge of a dried-up lake, he added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/mars-rover-perseverenc.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/mars-rover-perseverenc.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Mars rover Perseverence has also discovered signs of these important carbon-dioxide-rich rocks.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/mars-rover-perseverenc.jpg\" alt=\"Mars rover Perseverence has also discovered signs of these important carbon-dioxide-rich rocks\" title=\"Mars rover Perseverence has also discovered signs of these important carbon-dioxide-rich rocks.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Mars rover Perseverence has also discovered signs of these important carbon-dioxide-rich rocks.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Next, the scientists hope to discover more evidence of carbonates.<\/p>\n<p>Kite said the best proof would be returning rock samples from the Martian surface back to Earth\u2014both the United States and China are racing to do this in the next decade.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_we_alone\"><\/span>Are we alone?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ultimately, scientists are searching for an answer to one of the great questions: how common are planets like Earth that can harbor life?<\/p>\n<p>Astronomers have discovered nearly 6,000 planets beyond our solar system since the early 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>But only for Mars and Earth can scientists study rocks which allow them to understand the planet&#8217;s past, Kite said.<\/p>\n<p>If we do determine that Mars never hosted even tiny micro-organisms during its watery times, that would indicate it is difficult to kick-start life across the universe.<\/p>\n<p>But if we discover proof of ancient life, that would &#8220;basically be telling us the origin of life is easy on a planetary scale,&#8221; Kite said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n<p><strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEdwin Kite, Carbonate formation and fluctuating habitability on Mars, <i>Nature<\/i> (2025). <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-025-09161-1\" target=\"_blank\">DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-025-09161-1<\/a>. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-09161-1\" target=\"_blank\">www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-09161-1<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \u00a9 2025 AFP\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhy is there no life on Mars? Rover finds a clue (2025, July 5)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 5 July 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-07-life-mars-rover-clue.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-07-life-mars-rover-clue.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite brief oases, Mars was likely doomed to be a desert planet, a new study suggests. Why is Mars barren and uninhabitable, while life has always thrived here on our relatively similar planet Earth? A discovery made by a NASA rover has offered a clue for this mystery, new research said Wednesday, suggesting that while&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":678734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2025\/despite-brief-oases-ma.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-678733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}