Researchers have been thinking about this for a long time, and it is now official: perseverance has actually landed in an ancient Martian lake.
The perseverance with which we have been roaming Mars since last February has not stopped giving us amazing images. Three months after the collection, the machine has accumulated a real little treasure. According to NASA teams, These pictures are undeniable proof that the rover is on the old lake!
It has been a long time since we suspected Jessero groove – Rover landing site – An old water level. This is one of the reasons why NASA chose to deposit the diligence. The US space agency was hopeful that this hypothesis could be confirmed, and it was now over.
From space, the Mars Observatory Orbiter and other spacecraft gave us wonderful clues about Gesero Greater’s aquatic past. Now that NASAPersevere The rover offers close-up shots from the ground, scientists encountered some geological surprises: https://t.co/9tXmiFNsDS pic.twitter.com/ern4PqRkV6
– NASA Mars (@NASAMars) October 7, 2021
Works published in the journal Science Based on the study of an area that has already fascinated researchers for some time. In fact, the latter has a specific look in the form of a fan. It is reminiscent Deltas It can be found on earth. Perseverance So he left to conduct his investigation in the field and produced several photographs of invisible geological beds from orbit.
A lake, a river and a big flood
By analyzing the photos, the researchers noticed that the structure of the rock layers matched exactly their expectations. On Earth, this kind of system is formed by a process Sediment. An event discovered by researchers on Mars.
NASA was able to analyze the various layers in detail because the photos were also of good quality. Based on their orientation and thickness, the researchers from the US agency found that this material could only have been deposited. Fluids in motion. This indicates that the groove was at one point in its history A quiet lake, fed by a small river.
But their end does not end there. They also found large rocks in the upper layers. அற்பமானதல்ல; This means that they were recently (all considered) in the geological history of Mars. But considering their size and weight they certainly were not moved by a simple river. According to researchers, this existence bears witness to one chapter Great flood, Which occurred at the time of registration.
A Geographical and Biological Conservation
For scientists, the presence of water in the abyss in the past was great news in many ways. First, they can now Return to source Learn more about the climate, hydrology and geography of Mars from these floods. Even better: This water could have been the substrate for a kind of life. So going up in search will be very interesting Traces of past lives.
This is as true as the earth, and these structures, already very instructive within themselves, often contain fossils deposited between two layers. That Spaces So real security. They have some geographical and biological history of the Red Planet. It only remains to explore its content; A long-term adventure, but boundless excitement. “It takes time to find the rocks that we hope will find the signs of life“, Concludes Benjamin Weiss, MIT’s planetary science researcher.”This is a marathon, but more capable.“The text of the study is available Here.
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