Rare Earth hypothesis the atmosphere is not stripped over time by solar winds. A terrestrial planet of the right size is needed to retain an atmosphere, like Earth and Venus. On Earth, once the giant impact of Theia thinned Earth's atmosphere, other events were needed to make the atmosphere capable of sustaining life. The Late Heavy Bombardment reseeded Earth with water lost after the impact of Theia. The development of an ozone layer formed protection from ultraviolet (UV) sunlight. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide are needed in a correct ratio for life to form. Lightning is needed for nitrogen fixation. The carbon dioxide gas
Atmosphere of Mars freezing point of water. With the higher temperature, running water could have carved out the many channels and outflow valleys that are common on the planet. It also might have gathered to form lakes and maybe an ocean. Some researchers have suggested that the atmosphere of Mars may have been many times as thick as the present one of Earth; however, research published in fall 2015 advanced the idea that perhaps the early Martian atmosphere was not as thick as previously thought. Currently, the atmosphere is very thin. For many years, it was assumed that as with Earth, most of