Curiosity rover finds traces of ancient floods on Mars

Previous images of Mars' large canals and giant undulating features on its surface

indicate that in the past on the planetthere were major floods. A team of scientists from NASA made such conclusions based on images of the Curiosity rover. In their opinion, these phenomena took place about 4 billion years ago. “We have identified floods for the first time using detailed sedimentological data,” said Alberto Faren, co-author of an article published in the journal Nature. "The parts of the planet that show traces of floods could not be determined from orbit."

Scientists used pictures taken withMars Hand Lens Image and Mastcam, they observe rocks and minerals in Gale Crater. The researchers discovered sediments that they believe were deposited as a result of giant flash floods that occurred after Mount Sharp and Gale Crater first formed.

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They believe that the floods caused a powerfulimpact of meteorites. This phenomenon led to the release of heat due to the melting of huge amounts of ice on the planet. As a result, carbon dioxide and methane were released, which combined with water vapor for a short time formed a warm and humid climate. This led to heavy rains across the planet.

At this time, the planet had the conditions necessaryto maintain liquid water on the surface - NASA is now testing whether life existed on the planet during this period. Now the task of the Perseverance rover, which will land on the surface of the Red Planet in February 2021, is to test this hypothesis.

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