Billions of years ago, Mars looked similar to Iceland today
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Mars looks like a dry planet on the outside but it is believed to have frozen water underneath its surface.
But around 3 billion years ago, it is believed that most of the water was on the surface – in oceans, lakes and rivers.
Scientists believe that at that time, the climate on Mars was kind of warmer than it is now but still cold. So, this means it would have been more like Iceland – cold, but not too cold.
NASA’s Curiosity rover has been exploring Gale Crater on Mars since 2012. Gale is about 150 kilometres wide. It has a huge mountain called Aeolis Mons (nicknamed Mt. Sharp) in its centre.
What did Curiosity find?
Studies show that Gale used to be a lake. The Curiosity rover looked at the mudstones (mud that has turned to rock) found there. It showed that they haven’t changed at all in the last 3 billion years. This lack of change gave scientists clues about its climate in the past.
In Iceland, the climate is cold, windy and cloudy for most of the year. Of course, it’s a cold country as it is high up north but its climate is slightly warmer than other similar countries. Calm and sunny periods are rare but they do happen.
There are many more interesting news articles and information on space for all you kids. We have news and stories on stars, telescopes, galaxies, planets, exoplanets, black holes and much more. Keep reading our space news for children on Curious Times. And of course, keep your curiosity sky high!
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