On 'Snowball Mars', immense glaciers may have sheltered ancient microbial life Scott Sutherland mercredi, 5 août 2020 à 14:20 - An island in Canada's far north has helped scientists paint a very different picture of ancient Mars What was Mars like billions of years ago? Was it truly a blue and green world, similar to Earth? Or was it something else? In a new study, Canadian researchers suggest the Red Planet may have been a Snowball Planet, with thick ice sheets covering the surface. Over decades of Mars exploration, evidence sent back by robotic missions has presented a strong case that the planet was once a much warmer and wetter place, long ago. According to scientists, surface water on Mars would have even been suitable to drink, if we had been there at the time to sample it. It would undoubtedly have supported microbial life as we know it, as well. This has led to the idea that Mars was very Earth-like, with rainfall, and flowing rivers carving out the valleys and channels that scar its surface.