Mars’ Gravity May Have Shaped Earth's Ice Ages and Evolution
New simulations suggest Mars’ gravity subtly steers Earth’s orbit and tilt, influencing Milankovitch climate cycles that drive Ice Ages. When Mars is removed from the model, 100,000-year and 2.3-million-year cycles disappear; increasing Mars’ mass shortens these cycles and stabilizes Earth’s tilt. The findings imply Earth’s climate—and potentially its evolution—could have been very different without Mars, with broader implications for studying exoplanet climates.
