The atmosphere of Mars may not contain much oxygen, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the planet itself lacks the stuff. A new calculation of how much oxygen could be dissolved in Martian brines shows that the dusty world may be hiding an abundance of oxygen under its surface – potentially enough to support life.
We know Mars has oxygen on its surface, which is why it looks red: iron in Martian dust mixes with oxygen to create rust.
Vlada Stamenković at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in …