Scientists using NASA’s Curiosity rover have discovered siderite—an iron carbonate—in the sulfate-rich rocks of Gale Crater, solving a long-standing mystery about Mars’ missing carbonates. This find p

A mineral called siderite found abundantly in rock drilled by a NASA rover on the surface of Mars is providing fresh evidence of the planet's warmer and wetter ancient past when it boasted substantial bodies of water and potentially harbored life.

Billions of years ago, Mars was warm, wet, and capable of sustaining liquid water on its surface. Scientists have long believed the Red Planet once had a dense atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide (CO₂),