Curiosity has discovered what NASA called “the clearest evidence yet of ancient water waves” on Mars. This supports the hypothesis that the area the rover has been exploring since last fall (the so-called “sulfate-bearing unit”) was once covered by a shallow lake.
Billions of years ago, the water of this lake churned up the sediments on the bottom, which over time formed into rocks with ghostly ripple patterns.
Waves billions of years ago stirred up sediments on the bottom of a shallow lake. The sediment formed into wavy-textured rocks that are the clearest evidence that there was water on Mars
“This is the best evidence of water and waves we’ve seen in the entire mission,” stated researcher Ashwin Vasavada of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in an official statement.
“We’ve crawled through thousands of feet of lake sediments and we’ve never seen evidence like this anywhere – and now we’ve found it in a place we thought would be dry,” he added.
Curiosity is currently moving inside Mount Sharp Crater. Studying its walls allows experts to gain a better understanding of the evolution of Mars.
According to Vasavada, it is clear that the story of the transformation of the red planet’s surface into an arid and inhospitable wasteland is certainly not a simple one. “The ancient climate of Mars was amazingly complex, similar to Earth’s,” stated the named scientist.
