What crucial event initiated the catastrophic climate shift that caused Mars to lose its ability to sustain surface liquid water?
Answer
The loss of its global magnetic field
The prevailing consensus is that as Mars lost its global magnetic field, its atmosphere was stripped away by the solar wind over billions of years, leading to a dramatic drop in surface temperatures and pressure.
#Videos
Just in: NASA Has Found Oceans of Liquid Water on Mars...For Real
Related Questions
What geological feature strongly suggests persistent liquid flow across the Martian landscape in the past?What feature indicates where a fast-moving ancient river slowed down upon entering a standing body of water on Mars?If the northern lowlands of Mars were filled with water, approximately how much of the planet's surface could this ancient ocean have covered?Which class of minerals found on Mars provides chemical testimony to past interactions with liquid water?What specific evidence did the Opportunity rover find on Meridiani Planum related to past water activity?What crucial event initiated the catastrophic climate shift that caused Mars to lose its ability to sustain surface liquid water?Where is the majority of Martian water currently locked up today?What substance is strongly associated with the transient, salty flows observed in Recurring Slope Lineae (RSLs)?What conditions allow significant bodies of liquid water to persist deep beneath the Martian south pole today?If extraterrestrial life arose on ancient Mars, where offers the best chance of finding preserved biosignatures?