Billions of years ago, Mars was a watery world, with a lake in its Gale crater. Over time, the climate changed, turning the planet into the dusty desert it is today.
These discoveries have significant implications for our understanding of Mars’ evolving climate and where we should focus our search for signs of potential life.
By analyzing data and images from NASA’s Curiosity rover, researchers found evidence of water in deformed layers of desert sandstone, suggesting its presence in the past.
While it’s clear that water was there, the exact form it took—whether liquid, ice, or brine—remains uncertain.
Dr. Steven Banham, the lead author from Imperial College London’s Department of Earth Science and Engineering, emphasized, “The sandstone indicates that water may have been present more recently and for longer than previously believed. The question remains: how did the water leave these traces?”
2024-03-22 16:00:04
Post from phys.org
