Curiosity Mars rover finds the 'best evidence' of ancient water in rippled rocks

NASA's Curiosity rover has precocious discovered rippled stone textures that propose lakes existed successful a region of ancient Mars that scientists had expected to beryllium drier. 

Rock layers astatine nan "sulfate-bearing unit" formed successful drier settings than regions explored earlier successful nan mission, and nan area's sulfates are believed to person been near down erstwhile h2o was drying to conscionable a trickle. 

However, erstwhile nan rover arrived location past fall, nan squad was amazed to find nan "clearest grounds yet of ancient h2o ripples that formed wrong lakes." 

"This is nan champion grounds of h2o and waves that we’ve seen successful nan full mission," Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s task intelligence astatine NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said successful a statement. "We climbed done thousands of feet of reservoir deposits and ne'er saw grounds for illustration this – and now we recovered it successful a spot we expected to beryllium dry."

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Billions of years ago, waves connected nan aboveground of a shallow reservoir stirred up sediment astatine nan reservoir bottom. Over time, nan sediment formed into rocks pinch rippled textures that are nan clearest grounds of waves and h2o that NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has ever found. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Billions of years ago, NASA said, waves connected nan aboveground of a shallow reservoir stirred up sediment astatine nan bottom, creating nan rippled stone textures. 

Climbing astir half a mile supra nan guidelines of Mount Sharp, nan rover recovered nan textures preserved successful nan "Marker Band," which is simply a bladed furniture of acheronian stone that stands retired from nan remainder of nan mountain. The stone furniture is truthful difficult that Curiosity has not been capable to drill a sample from it aft respective attempts, and scientists will beryllium looking for softer stone successful coming weeks. 

NASA’s Curiosity utilized its Mastcam to seizure this 360-degree view of "Marker Band Valley" connected Dec. 16, 2022, nan 3,684th Martian day, aliases sol, of nan mission. Rippled stone textures recovered successful this area are nan clearest grounds nan rover has seen of h2o and waves from Mars’ ancient past. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

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Another hint wrong nan Marker Band is an different stone texture that was apt caused by immoderate benignant of regular rhythm successful nan upwind aliases climate.

At nan bottommost of this valley, called Gediz Vallis, is simply a mound of boulders and debris that are believed to person been swept location by bedewed landslides billions of years ago. The rover squad hopes to get a person look astatine this grounds for flowing water, which is apt nan youngest that Curiosity will ever find. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

In addition, NASA said that scientists tin spot different hint to the history of Mars' water successful a vale named Gediz Vallis. Scientists fishy that bedewed landslides occurred location – resulting successful debris – and a transmission moving done nan vale that starts connected Mount Sharp is thought to person been eroded by a mini river. 

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The rover squad hopes to person different chance to study nan debris astatine nan Gediz Vallis Ridge.