NASA's Curiosity rover has discovered the "clearest evidence yet" of ancient water on the surface of Mars after it found rocks that waves have shaped.
The car-sized robot treading the red planet's surface for roughly a decade took images of the finding, a Martian mountain, in mid-December. The rocks were found to be similar to undulating patterns that can be found when the tide reels the ocean back from a beach. They revealed wobbly tracks on the sand that had been temporarily exposed.
Ancient Water on Mars
Scientists in charge of the mission believe that the waves on the surface of Mars showed water lapping on the surface of a shallow lake that resulted in the grooves roughly billions of years ago.
They found that the movement on top redirected sediment from the bottom, which they believe caused the mountain's combed texture. Curiosity's project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ashwin Vasavada, said that the rover climbed through thousands of feet of lake deposits and has only now discovered such clear evidence of ancient water on Mars, as per Mashable.
Researchers have, for years, found signs that the red planet was previously covered with creeks and lakes. They claim that Martian water was responsible for chiseling sinuous river beds and deep ravines into the surface, which have become hollowed out and dusty.
During the Curiosity expedition's first year on Mars, it was able to send home images of a stream bed that was found to be eroded and dry and had a bounty of round pebbles, which are similar to the ones you can find on Earth that form from flowing water.
Scientists are on a quest to find evidence of past water on Mars, which has now become a frozen desert, to prove that it was once similar to our planet, wet and warm. They believe that lakes and oceans could have been crucial in supporting primitive life on the red planet.
Rocky Regions of the Red Planet
The mountain that showcases the evidence of ancient water on Mars is a region that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter previously identified as containing salty mineral deposits. According to CNN, scientists believe that the geological location can hold more clues about how and why the red planet turned from being a watery planet into a frozen wasteland.
The wave-marked rocks were discovered in a zigzag formation of rocks known as the Marker Band Valley. The area stands out against the landscape because it has a darker coloring. Curiosity started to explore the Marker Band feature last year.
The rover has difficulty extracting samples from the Marker Band because the surface is so hard. However, even if Curiosity does not take samples from softer rock, it still has other missions on the surface of the red planet.
According to Gizmodo, scientists believe that the Martian valley of Gediz Vallis is home to an assortment of rock debris that was allegedly swept by ancient landslides.
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