Ancient Mars wasn’t just wet. He experienced a major flood.
As clear evidence of this water-filled past, NASA recently released images taken by the Perseverance rover showing large, heavy rocks covering entire sections of Jezero Crater, a dry river delta.
“The cobblestones seen here are believed to have been thrown into the Jezero Crater, which Perseverance is exploring, billions of years ago by rushing flood waters,” he said. NASA said in a statement. “This occurred in one of the three main periods identified by scientists in the development of the lake and river systems that occupied Jezero in the past.”
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About 3.5 billion years ago, a lot of water flowed through a flat plain of Mars called Isidis Planitia before breaking through the crater walls. Sometimes the water flows so deep and fast that it lifts all the boulders, as you can see below.
The varying speed of light
The Perseverance rover captured an area full of boulders called “Castell Henllys” from a distance of 100 meters.
Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Perseverance’s big brother, Curiosity, was also seen providing evidence of an important water event on Mars, about 3,700 kilometers from Jezero Crater. Long ago, giant debris flowing down Mount Sharp on Mars sent mud and boulders the size of cars down the mountain, leaving the ridge that stands out today.
One of Perseverance’s main missions is to search for potential signs of past life on Mars – although there is still no evidence of its existence. But if microbes ever evolved on the Red Planet, the rover must have been looking for the right place. Jezero once had vast streams, rivers and lakes 35 km wide. Life could have developed in the moist soil of this region, just as life does on Earth.
This car-sized robot also collects real samples of the Martian surface. NASA wants to closely observe these rocks and soil and everything in them. “After the mission NASA, in collaboration with ESA (European Space Agency), will send a spacecraft to Mars to retrieve these closed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis,” the space agency said.
2023-12-23 15:36:18
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