Did volcanoes once warm up cold, distant Mars?
A recent study suggests that billions of years ago, Martian volcanoes pumped out special sulfur gasses that trapped heat—kind of like a greenhouse—making Mars warmer and potentially supporting liquid water.
How did researchers come to this conclusion?
Researchers ran dozens of simulations and looked at Martian meteorites.
They found that volcanoes released reduced sulfur gasses (such as sodium sulfide, disulphur, and possibly sulfur hexafluoride), which created a hazy, heat-trapping atmosphere.
This matches up with what NASA's Curiosity rover found: traces of elemental sulfur on the planet.
What does this mean for the search for extraterrestrial life?
Unlike older models that focused too much on one type of gas (SO2), this study shows a more accurate mix, thanks to new data about how magma behaves.
The bottom line? Early Mars might have been friendlier to life than we thought—similar to places on Earth where microbes thrive around volcanic vents.
Pretty cool for anyone curious about life beyond Earth!