Fredagskollokvium: Mars: A Key to Life and Planetary Evolution?

Understanding the evolution of planets in the Solar System, and how they compare, critically depends on accurate estimates of time and rates at which processes, e.g. volcanism, occur. Knowledge of proper time scales are still a challenge, but needed to investigate the pattern of mantle dynamics, the thermal evolution, and to date important phases of crustal formation and volcanic activity or even periods at which life could develop. Mars received a lot attention, when it was postulated that one Martian meteorite contains remnants of life, and it busted robotic and satellite investigations of its surface. I will introduce you to the evolution of Mars as it is recorded on its surface and derived from interpreting Martian meteorites.