Scientists have found that the temperature in the distant past on Mars could change during short hot and cold periods. But these changes in temperature could be destructive for life if it existed on the Red Planet. The study is published in the journal Nature Geoscience, writes Space.

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Scientists know that despite the fact that now Mars is a cold and arid planet, billions of years ago it was more like the Earth, because there was a warmer and wet climate. A new study shows how the water could exist on Mars with a liquid form and it was warm.

According to scientists, for a long time remained a mystery how liquid water could exist on Mars, because the planet is further from the sun. In addition, billions of years ago, the sun radiated less heat.

Previously, scientists believed that on Mars there could exist water in a liquid form due to the presence of a large amount of hydrogen in the planet’s atmosphere.

Hydrogen could contact the carbon atoms and create carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As you know, this is greenhouse gas, which holds heat and causes a greenhouse effect. Thus, thanks to this, on the Mars there could be water in liquid form on the surface. But the problem is that hydrogen in the atmosphere of Mars could not exist for a very long time.

The authors of the study created modeling to find out how the hydrogen content in the atmosphere of Mars changed. Scientists simulated how hydrogen was mixed and reacted with other gases in the atmosphere of Mars and with chemicals on the surface of the planet.

The results showed that there were episodic warm periods on Mars about 3-4 billion years ago. Warm periods were replaced by cold for about 40 million years, and each warm period lasted at least 100,000 years.

Scientists say that the reason for the appearance of warm and moist periods could be that water from the atmosphere of Mars came to the surface, which replenished the hydrogen content in the atmosphere. Thereby maintained a greenhouse effect.

The authors of the study believe that carbon dioxide constantly reacted with sunlight, and carbon monoxide occurred. But in warm periods, he again turned into carbon dioxide.

This process would stop if Mars remained cold enough, which would lead to the accumulation of carbon monoxide and oxygen.

Now scientists want to know whether there was a microbial on Mars, but life in the distant past. But temperature changes could be destructive for life if it existed on a red planet.

In the future, the authors of the study intend to compare their models with real soil samples collected on Mars, which should be delivered to Earth in the next decade.

As Focus already wrote, scientists decided to find out whether earthly life can survive on other planets and got interesting results. As a new study showed, not only water plays an important role in the inhabitability of the planet, but also its atmosphere.

Focus also wrote that the scientists were surprised when they found out at what speed the winds were actually blowing on Mars.