Sometimes, we need not look too far afield to find riddles that demand answers. After all, what concerns my neighbor may very well be concerning to me. While the magnificent technology of new telescopes like the James Webb and Vera Rubin is enabling us to peer further into space than ever before, just down the block is the enigma of Mars, the Red Planet. It’s a desert wasteland with polar ice caps. And, it may have undergone as much change as any other object in the sky. 

Rivers once flowed there. There were oceans as well. We always thought both had to be true. And yet, having finally reached the moment when it has become rather incontrovertible, we suddenly feel more than a bit unnerved. You just have to cut to it. What made it all disappear? And, if it happened to our neighbor, might it happen here? And when? Do we even have the ability to think that long term, to take steps to avert a climatic disaster that may be so far ahead of us? 

It has been an incredible past few months with the space-based Webb actually photographing a new planet—an exoplanet—forming around a distant star. Never before have we been able to see this directly. The Rubin, situated on a mountaintop in Chile—has provided its first images and they are incredible. Billions of galaxies, iridescent nebulae and countless previously undiscovered asteroids are just the beginning of what its 3200-megapixel camera will reveal to us. But, Mars is just as intriguing. 

Recent studies from NASA’s InSight Lander indicate that there may be vast amounts of Martian water that have not been lost, but are rather miles below its crust. There may actually be enough hidden water to cover the planet’s surface. It all leads to two hypotheses, and both may be accurate. The first is that the thin Martian atmosphere and the lack of a magnetic field led to the breakdown of water molecules. Uncoupled hydrogen atoms drifted off the planet’s surface and into space leaving oxygen without its necessary water-making partner. 

The second posits that water slowly seeped into the ground. The seismic data developed by NASA provides the best evidence yet that Mars’ far distant past was quite different than its present. It certainly contained conditions suitable for life, though nothing has been found to confirm that it did. Now, could its underground seas contain life? Possibly. The challenge to determine that awaits us. 

Call it Martian climate change. It happened. It was once a world that looked very much like ours. Luckily, though, we are quite different. Our magnetic field is intact. Hydrogen and oxygen continue to merge to make water. Life remains abundant. Any yet, all is not well. We have our own version of climate change and it is crucial that, while not believing we’re soon headed for some kind of Martian apocalypse, we must nonetheless believe that we need to supercharge our efforts to address it.

Forecasters believe that Arizona’s 2025 monsoon season will bring above average rainfall. Sonoita Creek—bone dry in its immediate approach to Patagonia Lake in June—will once again race along. We will forget how dry it has been. We will likely discard all images drought related and marvel at the explosion of green. And, for at least a few months we may magically believe that climate change is what may have happened on Mars, but right now it need not be one of Earth’s top priorities. 

Still, there is an overarching lesson to be learned from our neighbor. At the end of the day, all of the societal ills that currently befall us will surely pale in comparison to unchecked climate change. That is why of all the celestial objects we can see and those that have been brought to life by the magnificent technology of modern-day telescopes, the one that should take priority over all others is the one we’re on. Every awe-inspired view of deep space and every eye-opening revelation from Mars must not take one minute away from where our attention is most needed—right here. 

Thanks to scientific genius, the mysteries of the universe are unfolding. We stare at these wonders with mouths agape while our little corner of the heavens is straining mightily. My hope is that there is even more genius, not just scientific, but also interpersonal, that shows us how to navigate our way towards a sustainable future.

Harold Meckler can be contacted at byaakov54@gmail.com