--- title: "New Research: Mars Used To Be Covered In Huge Rivers" description: "A new study found that Mars used to be covered in huge rivers — much wider than on Earth — for billions of years." date: "2019-03-28" modified: "2019-03-28" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/mars-covered-huge-rivers" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "Space" tags: - "mars" - "NASA" - "the digest" - "water" --- # New Research: Mars Used To Be Covered In Huge Rivers ![A new study found that Mars used to be covered in huge rivers — much wider than on Earth — for billions of years.]() *\Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/UChicago\* ## Huge Rivers A new study by scientists from the University of Chicago theorizes that Mars has been [covered in huge rivers]() during multiple lengthy periods in the distant past. Though many questions remain, the study upends longstanding assumptions about the history of our closest planetary neighbor. "We can start to see that Mars didn't just have one wet period early in its history and then dried out," lead author Edwin Kite, assistant professor at the University of Chicago, told *Space.com*. "It's more complicated than that; there were multiple wet periods." ## "Hundreds of Channels" The news comes after researchers at the European Space Agency [found]() "the first geological evidence of a planet-wide groundwater system on Mars" earlier this year. The rivers weren't just concentrated in one area. They were all over the planet, according to the researchers of the more recent study, and distributed over "hundreds of channels and channel deposits" according to [a paper]() published in the journal *Science Advances* yesterday. ## "Cold and Dry" That doesn't mean Mars was always water-rich, especially considering Mars is only gets a third of the sunlight than Earth. "Indeed, even on ancient Mars, when it was wet enough for rivers some of the time, the rest of the data looks like Mars was extremely cold and dry most of the time," Kite said in a [statement](). But the reason why Mars had any liquid to begin with is still a huge puzzle. "It's already hard to explain rivers or lakes based on the information we have," said Kite. "This makes a difficult problem even more difficult." **READ MORE:** [Mars Had Big Rivers for Billions of Years]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on Mars:** *[There's a Huge Subterranean Lake of Liquid Water on Mars]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()