Mars, the Red Planet, Was Once Blue
Mars once had rains, rivers, and in the northern hemisphere, a vast sea—the ingredients necessary for life.
Much like Earth, Mars was once a water world, rich with the building blocks for life. But it didn’t last. Was there enough time for life to take hold on the Red Planet before it dried out?
Mars, the Red Planet, was Once Blue
Published: July 24, 2019
Narration: For hundreds of millions of years, Mars is a water world. Rich with the building blocks for life. Rains fall, rivers run, and in the northern hemisphere, evidence suggests water collects in a vast sea, bigger than the Arctic Ocean, that covers a fifth of the Martian surface. The Red Planet was once blue. But it didn’t last.
Steve Squyres: The fascination to me about the early warm wet Mars is not what happened although that’s an interesting question: Why did it dry up?
John Grotzinger: The billion-dollar question is whether or not Mars actually originated life before all the water was lost.
Squyres: How far along did it get? How far along did the process go and did it go long enough that life could have taken hold there?
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Created by Lola Post Production/© BBC Studios
Digital Producer: Sukee Bennett
© WGBH Educational Foundation 2019
