Oxygen makes up over 20% of the Earth's atmosphere but is a minor constituent of the atmospheres of Venus and Mars. Why?
Group of answer choices
On Earth, most atmospheric oxygen is formed by photosynthesis, a process that requires life. Lifeless worlds can thus not create oxygen using this mechanism.
The carbon and oxygen in the CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere was dissociated into carbon and O2 by incoming sunlight, and the lighter carbon was lost to space. Venus' thicker atmosphere prevented its carbon from escaping by the same mechanism, and Mars is too far from the sun for this to be a major process.
Oxygen gas forms readily only where liquid water is present. H2O is broken down into hydrogen and oxygen molecules in the Earth's oceans, and the hydrogen is eventually lost to space. Venus and Mars lack oceans, and thus cannot form O2 by this mechanism.
None of the above