Washington University<\/a>, a co-author of the study. \u201cThe finding of the correlation of K isotopic compositions with planet gravity is a novel discovery with important quantitative implications for when and how the differentiated planets received and lost their volatiles.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cMartian meteorites are the only samples available to us to study the chemical makeup of the bulk Mars,\u201d Wang said. \u201cThose Martian meteorites have ages varying from several hundred million to four billion years and recorded Mars\u2019 volatile evolution history. Through measuring the isotopes of moderately volatile elements, such as potassium, we can infer the degree of volatile depletion of bulk planets and make comparisons between different solar system bodies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s indisputable that there used to be liquid water on the surface of Mars, but how much water in total Mars once had is hard to quantify through remote sensing and rover studies alone,\u201d Wang added. \u201cThere are many models out there for the bulk water content of Mars. In some of them, early Mars was even wetter than the Earth. We don\u2019t believe that was the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Searching for life on exoplanets<\/h3>\n The researchers also noted that their novel findings have significant implications assessing the habitability of planets of other planets in addition to Mars.<\/p>\n
A planet being too close to its star can impact the number of volatiles that a planetary body can preserve. This distance-from-star measurement is often factored into indexes of \u2018habitable zones\u2019 around stars.<\/p>\n
“This study emphasises that there is a very limited size range for planets to have just enough but not too much water to develop a habitable surface environment,” explained Klaus Mezger of the Center for Space and Habitability at the University of Bern, Switzerland, who is also a co-author of the study. “These results will guide astronomers in their search for habitable exoplanets in other solar systems.”<\/p>\n
Wang now thinks that, for planets that are within habitable zones, planetary size should be more emphasised and taken into account when considering whether an exoplanet could support life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe size of an exoplanet is one of the parameters that is easiest to determine,\u201d Wang concluded. \u201cBased on size and mass, we now know whether an exoplanet is a candidate for life, because a first-order determining factor for volatile retention is size.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new study conducted by Washington University in St. Louis suggests that the habitability of Mars is limited by its small size, which means it cannot hold large amounts of water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":14680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[771],"tags":[818,3477],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Novel study indicates that Mars habitability restricted by its small size<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n