An Ancient Volcanic Cataclysm Spun Mars Off Its Poles

"What happened to Mars?" is one of the most compelling questions in space science. It probably wasn't always the dead, dry, cold place it is now. Did its core cool and stop rotating, allowing the full glare of the sun to blast away its atmosphere and water, and kill anything that may have lived there? Was it struck by a large body, which incinerated its atmosphere, and led to its demise? Were there other causes? According to a new research paper from Sylvain Bouley at the University of Paris-Sou...