Maybe Sulfur Dioxide, Not Carbon Dioxide, Kept Mars Warm

Written by Fraser Cain

Try to walk on Mars today, and the planet will simultaneously freeze and suffocate you. Not to mention the minimal air pressure and relentless radiation from space. But billions of years ago, the Red Planet was much warmer and liquid water flowed on its surface. Warm temperatures on Earth are maintained by the carbon cycle, but maybe another greenhouse gas - sulfur dioxide (SO2) - maintained the temperatures on Mars.

This is the hypothesis put forward by Harvard and MIT researchers, published in the December 21st edition of the journal Science.

Full article here:

http://www.universetoday.com/2007/12/20/maybe-sulfur-dioxide-not-carbon-dioxide-kept-mars-warm/