Planet Mars Can’t Hold Large Amounts Of Water, Humans Fail To Live There?

INDONESIAN EYE, JAKARTA-Scientists have found new evidence that Mars cannot hold large amounts of water.

For every living thing on Earth, water is an important element. Citing The National News, researchers have suggested a number of explanations for why there is no more water on Mars, including a weakening magnetic field that could result in the thinning of the atmosphere.

However, this new study offers a fundamental reason why Mars today is so different from Earth.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences under the title Potassium isotope composition of Mars, reveals a mechanism of planetary volatile retention. The study’s author, Kun Wang, said that the fate of Mars itself was predetermined from the start.

“There is a possibility of limiting the size requirements of rocky planets to maintain plate tectonics and sufficient water to allow habitability. This (limit requirement) is higher than what Mars has,” he told The National News.

In this new study, researchers used stable isotopes of the element potassium to estimate the presence, finite distribution and abundance of the element in various objects in the solar system. The researchers also measured the composition of 20 meteorites selected to represent the composition of the planet’s mass silicates.

They have also found that Mars lost more potassium and other volatiles than Earth during formation. However, it retains more volatiles than the moon and the asteroid 4-Vesta, two objects that are claimed to be much drier than Mars and Earth.

“There was no denying that there used to be water on the Martian surface but how much total water was once held on Mars is difficult to measure through remote sensing and rover studies alone. There are many models out there for the mass water content of Mars,” he said.

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