Researchers had previously thought that Mars formed and possibly created a life-supporting atmosphere like Earth. However, a new study suggests that Mars may not have, but was likely cordial to life at some stage in its history. To figure this out, researchers chemically investigated meteorites to reconstruct the history of water on Mars and its planetary origins. These meteorites were discovered on Earth but known to be of Martian origin because of their composition. The study allowed researchers to develop an idea of what Mars’s crust looked like over several billion years ago.