'Desert planet': Why is there no life on Mars? Nasa rover finds a clue

Why is Mars barren and uninhabitable, while life has always thrived here on our relatively similar planet Earth?

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PARIS:

A discovery made by a Nasa rover has offered a clue for this mystery, new research said on Wednesday, suggesting that while rivers once sporadically flowed on Mars, it was doomed to mostly be a "desert planet".

Mars is thought to currently have all the necessary ingredients for life except for perhaps the most important one: liquid water.

However the red surface is carved out by ancient rivers and lakes, showing that water once flowed on our nearest neighbour.