NASA is exploring one of the most interesting places on Mars: Jezero Crater.
Planetary scientists suspect that this region – a former river delta with a large lake – was once rich in water. So the agency sent the car-sized Perseverance rover to Jezero, a 28-mile-wide (45-kilometer) basin that holds Mars’ wet past. Among more than 60 tempting landing sites, NASA has chosen to land Perseverance on Jezero in 2021.
The agency has now recreated the momentous event that flooded Jezero some 3.5 billion years ago.
This animated artist’s concept depicts a view of water breaking through the rim of Mars’ Jezero crater, which is being explored by NASA’s Perseverance rover. the agency explained. “Water entered the crater billions of years ago, depositing sediment that formed the delta.”
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The water flows through a flat Martian plain called Isidis Planitia before breaking through the crater walls. Water fills the pool below:
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This momentous event could have had major implications for Mars, as Jezero likely experienced several wet periods over billions of years (just as Earth experienced several ice ages and climate changes).
“It is possible that microbial life supported Jezero during one or more of these wet periods,” NASA said. “In that case, their remains could be found in lake bottom sediments or shorelines. “Scientists will study how the region formed and evolved, looking for signs of past life, and collecting samples of Martian rock and soil that might preserve those traces.”
Satellite image of the dry river delta in Jezero Crater as seen from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Different colors indicate different sediments, for example carbonates.
Source: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / JHU-APL
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The largest lake is 35 kilometers wide and about 30 meters deep. The river carries mud that can hold traces of extinct organisms (like mud on Earth), and a “high-energy river” transports boulders to Jezero.
Perseverance certainly hasn’t found any traces of past primitive life. And maybe never will. But NASA’s rover is certainly looking for one of the best places to find this elusive evidence on the dry, irradiated surface of Mars.
2023-12-17 15:13:37
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