---
title: "Cosmic Split: Astrophysicists Uncover the Mystery of Earth and Mars Origins"
description: "Astrophysicists discovered that Earth and Mars grew differently: Earth formed three-quarters from absorbed pebbles, while Mars formed from large planetesimals."
date: 2026-10-10T05:14:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/cosmic-split-origin-earth-mars
tags: [astrophysics, earth, mars, space, solar-system]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Cosmic Split: Astrophysicists Uncover the Mystery of Earth and Mars Origins

![Comparison of Earth and Mars formation processes in the early solar system](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/10/kosmicheskiy-raskol-proisxozhdenie-zemli-i-marsa/kosmicheskiy-raskol-proisxozhdenie-zemli-i-marsa-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Earth formed 75% through pebble accretion, while Mars formed 73% from planetesimals.
- A deficit of moderately volatile elements was found in the mantle of both planets due to thermal evaporation in the gas envelope.

Earth and Mars formed within the same stellar system, yet their evolutionary paths and growth mechanisms turned out to be cardinally opposed. In a recent study published in the authoritative scientific journal Nature Astronomy, scientists presented a detailed analysis of how the rocky worlds of our system were born. For a long time, the scientific community has debated fiercely about what prevailed in the early cosmos: the peaceful absorption of small cosmic grains or destructive collisions of large planetesimals.

### Two Hypotheses of Planet Formation

Traditionally, astrophysicists considered two scenarios of planetary accretion. The first assumed the gradual and peaceful accumulation of small "pebbles" drifting in the protoplanetary disk. The second scenario was based on dynamic and aggressive collisions of massive fragments. Recent computer modeling has shown that both processes actually occurred in parallel, but the proportions of their participation in the formation of Earth and Mars differ radically. ### The Role of Volatile Elements and Thermal Evaporation

The key to the mystery lay in the chemical composition features of the mantle of both planets. Researchers recorded a noticeable deficit of moderately volatile elements compared to the solar composition. It turned out that during the absorption of small pebbles, the growing protoplanet retained a temporary gas envelope. The generated heat led to the evaporation of volatile fractions, which were carried back into the disk by gas flows, while heavy minerals remained, forming a solid core. ### Controversial Data

It is worth noting that early theoretical calculations were based predominantly on the hypothesis of exclusively impact-driven planet formation due to chaotic collisions of large bodies. At the same time, the latest Bayesian models prove the critical importance of pebble accretion, generating discussions about the exact chronology and rates of accretion processes in the young Solar System, leaving room for a revision of classical models.

### Different Scenarios for Earth and Mars

Using statistical modeling, scientists found that about 75% of Earth's mass was formed from objects that grew through pebble accretion (proto-Earth and a large impactor that created the Moon), and only 25% from planetesimals. For Mars, the situation looks different: about 73% of its mass was assembled from planetesimals similar to the asteroid Vesta, and only 27% from pebbles. Probably, the early orbital migration of the Red Planet prevented it from efficiently absorbing small substance.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Космический раскол: астрофизики раскрыли тайну происхождения Земли и Марса](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/kosmichniy-rozkol-astrofiziki-rozkrili-taemnitsyu-1791284414.html) - Основной источник новости с описанием исследования из Nature Astronomy.
- [Первые планеты собирались вопреки привычной картине: древний космос оказался совсем не ледяным](https://www.pravda.ru/news/science/2421686-yale-study-early-solar-system-formation/) - Контекст раннего формирования планет Солнечной системы.
- [Землю "собрали" из других миров: учёные восстановили рождение планет Солнечной системы](https://www.pravda.ru/science/2420039-earth-mars-formation-study-nature/) - Контекст раннего формирования планет Солнечной системы.
- [Ученые: Земля и Марс имели одного «предка», но сформировались совершенно по-разному](https://charter97.org/ru/news/2026/10/5/700799/) - Анализ различий в формировании Земли и Марса.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How did Earth form according to the new study?
**A:** Earth formed approximately 75% from objects that grew by absorbing small pebbles, and 25% from large planetesimals.

### Q: Why do Earth and Mars lack moderately volatile elements?
**A:** The deficit is explained by the evaporation of these elements in the heated gas envelope of growing protoplanets, followed by gas sweeping them back into the disk.