It was once believed that Mars used to be a warm and wet planet before the surface began drying up. However, a new study suggests our initial assumptions were wrong, and that the Red Planet was actually as cold as ice – literally. It apparently wasn’t lakes and rivers that covered Mars, but rather sheets of ice.

Similarities With The Earth

The reason we used to think the planet was covered in water was because of its valleys. Primarily found in the southern hemisphere, they bear a resemblance to the drainage basins that our rivers have. The similar size and shaping would suggest they were caused by the same thing on both planets. However, while on Earth they were primarily the result of erosion from runoff surface water, it seems the reality was different on Mars.

A Discovery In Canada

According to Anna Grau Galofre, a researcher from the University of British Columbia, the valleys actually bear more similarities to those in the Canadian Arctic. What’s notable about this connection is the fact that the latter wasn’t the result of water, but rather glacial ice. Galofre and her team apparently noticed the resemblance when she examined the subglacial channels in Nunavut, an area her colleague referred to as a “cold, dry, polar desert.”

An Icy Past

After looking at the data for over 10,000 Martian valleys, it seemed clear to Galofre that many of them had been carved by glaciers. Although some of the valleys were probably the result of running water, the likelihood is that Mars was once cold enough to be icy. Obviously, this all happened billions of years ago, and the planet has gone on to become barren and hot. Still, it’s interesting to think about how different it used to be.

If Mars once had a completely different climate, we have to wonder if that was the same with other planets too.

Google is a massive corporation, and as such, it has taken down a large number of features and applications in the past. The latest casualty of this practice was the Measure app. It was quietly retired recently, as it became unavailable on Google Play, and support for the app also ended. Measure started as an app for Google’s defunct Tango AR platform and developed further when the tech giant expanded its availability to smartphones supporting ARCore back in 2018.

Google Has Confirmed That They Can No Longer Support the Measure App

In a recent statement, Google has confirmed that they are no longer going to support ongoing maintenance for their Measure app. Instead, they have recommended trying one of the many alternatives currently available in the Play Store.

The Measure App Will Not Show Up On Google Play

While the Measure app will no longer show up on Google Play, people who have previously installed it on their devices will see a message that states the app is not supported and won’t be updated. However, users who already have the app will be able to continue using it if they still have it installed.

The Measure app was meant to allow any user to turn a mobile device into a virtual tape measure that can be used to measure the dimensions of real-world objects. All users had to do was point the camera at an object, and that would give its dimensions. However, the reviews that many users left on Google Play pointed out that the app was unstable and quite prone to crashes. To top that off, its measurements weren’t very accurate either and its features were quite buggy.

To salvage the situation, Google rolled out more unit conversions during the last year, but the big updates for the app were few and very far between. The slow and sporadic overall development undoubtedly led to the demise of the Measure app and many believe it was a long time coming.