Mars carbonate catastrophe

The Mars carbonate catastrophe was an event that happened on Mars in its early history. Evidence shows Mars was once warmer and wet about 4 billion years ago, or about 560 million years after the formation of Mars. Mars quickly, over a 1 to 12 million year time span, lost its water, becoming cold and very dry. Factors in Mars losing its water and most of its atmosphere are the carbonate catastrophe, loss of the planet's magnetic field and Mars's low gravity. Mars's low gravity and loss of a magnetic field allowed the Sun's solar wind to strip away most of Mars's atmosphere and water into outer space.