This image shows the Earth and Mars
NASA
An Overview of the History of Mars
This is probably what happened to Mars:
- an early warm period
- the inside of Mars cools off very fast
- volcanoes appeared, and the Tharsis Bulge is created
- changes in climate every once and awhile, which affect the way in which the frozen water of Mars comes to the surface.
The changes in climate may persist to the present day, but the rest of the history of Mars was finished 3.5 Billion Years ago.
The reason that the history of Mars is this way has to do with the fact that Mars is small, and the fact that Mars is farther from the sun that either the Earth or Venus. Some scientists call this the "Goldilocks" phenomenon.
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