NASA’s Curiosity rover was sent to the Red Planet 14 years ago to study the geology of Mars. His main task was to search for signs of open, non-freezing bodies of water on ancient Mars. To do this, it relies on well-studied Earth geology as well as modeling. Everything taken together allows you to make amazing discoveries, taking a figurative trip in a time machine billions of years ago.
Image source: NASA
Mars belongs to the terrestrial planets. It is smaller than Earth, but could well be inhabited. Or maybe it will be if technology allows it. In the meantime, scientists are trying to find out its ancient secrets: how the planet lost its atmosphere and surface waters. Regardless of how one feels about the climate agenda, it has done much to better understand the evolution of the climate of Mars and, looking ahead, will bring significant benefits to predicting the Earth’s climate. Through this research, climate models are developed and the relationship between geology and ecosystems is further explored.
Curiosity has previously found signs of open water on the Red Planet, such as rocks that may have been swept away by currents. This time, the rover discovered, in the area of the shallow depression where it is now working, two areas that resembled the slopes of a rocky shore, on which waves splashed for a long time, or rather, ripples in the water.
The damage to the rock was less reminiscent of wind erosion and more like the characteristic traces left by water on the shores of earthly lakes. The characteristic pattern allows one to estimate the amplitude and period of ripples on the water, and based on these data, scientists can calculate the volume and depth of the ancient lake.
Modeling showed that the lake was probably no deeper than two meters. The water left traces on the rock, which is estimated to be 3.7 billion years old. The age of two different areas with traces of ripples on the walls is slightly different. On this basis, scientists have suggested that liquid water on ancient Mars either appeared frequently or persisted for a long time. This discovery was further evidence that biological life could have arisen on ancient Mars.