Washington (USA) | Jagran Trending Desk: Mars, which is also known as the ‘Red planet’, has always fascinated space enthusiasts. Several people, including prominent space scientists, believe that the Red planet is very similar to Earth and supported life once.

Now, top NASA scientist Dr Becky McCauley Rench has revealed that Mars once looked like Earth. NASA shared an interview on its Instagram handle with Dr Rench on October 14 and asked her did Mars ever look like Earth?

“Yes, we think it did. Ancient Mars may have been wetter and warmer — similar to our home planet,” Rench replied.

Dr Rench said that Mars wasn’t always as dry as what we witness today. The planet also had seasons, polar ice caps, canyons, and weather, she said while adding that there was a time when Mars had volcanoes, floods, and so much more.

Explaining in detail, Dr Rench said that four billion years ago when the solar system was formed, Mars and Earth were made up of the “same materials and looked very similar”. She explained that since both the planets are terrestrial, they have a central core, a rocky mantle, and a solid crust. She added that once the red planet even had lakes, streams, and a northern ocean.

“The two worlds diverged, and we have two very different planets today,” she said, adding that though Mars was once warm and wet, the picture seems completely opposite now as the Red Planet is a cold and dry place now.

“As the Earth progressed with the development of life, on Mars the geologic activity subsided, it lost that water and became a much drier place. That’s why it’s so fascinating to study Mars. It helps us understand more about its past and future as well as understanding Earth and planetary evolution in our solar system and beyond,” she said.

Coming to the conclusion, Dr Rench said, “So did Mars ever look like Earth? Yes, it did, a very, very long time ago”.

Posted By: Mallika Mehzabeen