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Images from Tuesday reveal how water helped shape the Red Planet’s landscape billions of years ago and provide clues to finding evidence of ancient life, a new study finds.
In February, NASA’s Persevering rover Jesero descended into the abyss, scientists suspect a long-lasting river feeding a lake and sediment in a delta visible as a fan in space.
Scientifically researched, high-resolution images captured by the stagecoach of the rocks that were once the shores of the delta. The layers inside the rocks reveal how their formation happened.
NASA astronomer Amy Williams and her team in Florida have discovered similarities between the rocky features of the abyss and the shapes of the Earth’s river delta. The shape of the lower three layers showed an early presence and uniform current, as Mars was “hot and humid enough to withstand a hydraulic cycle” 3.7 billion years ago, according to the study.
Blocks over one meter in diameter are scattered in the upper and posterior layers, probably due to severe flooding.
But the microscopic deposits of the central layer are the model target for signs of the extinction of long life on Mars.
The results will help researchers determine where to send the rover in soil and rocks, which may contain valuable “biological signals” of Martian life.
“From the orbital images, we know the delta must be made up of water,” Williams said. “But getting those photos is like reading a book rather than looking at the cover.”
The main task of perseverance is to find out if there is a creature on Mars, it took decades and was developed at a cost of billions of dollars.
Over the years, the multi-mission rover will collect 30 rock and soil samples in sealed tubes, which will eventually be returned to Earth occasionally in 2030 for laboratory analysis.
Last month, scientists on the expedition announced a due diligence in collecting two rock samples at Jessore, which showed signs of prolonged contact with groundwater. They believe the samples may at some point have led an ancient microbial life, evidence that they may have been trapped by saline minerals.
Knowing that Mars may have already had life, Williams said, was one of humanity’s most profound discoveries.
She was surprised that there was a window to an ancient river system on another planet. “To see something that no one on earth has ever seen is truly amazing,” he said.
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