Volcanoes could still be active on Mars The barren landscape of Mars makes the planet seem like a quiet, frozen desert where nothing has happened for billions of years except for the occasional dust storm. New research, however, suggests that the red planet has a more recent history of activity — and it could still be volcanically active. Scientists still are trying to understand the history of Mars, and NASA rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance can help uncover evidence to piece together the planet’s time line. Mars was once much wetter and warmer than it is today about 4 billion years ago. Something happened to cause the planet to lose its atmosphere and send its water beneath the surface about 3 billion years ago — but the cause remains a mystery.