NASA's Curiosity rover photographed rocks with tiny ripples from an ancient lake. It also creates waves on the Earth.
Traces of ripples were found on the slopes of Mount Sharp. Despite the fact that Curiosity visited many rock deposits in ancient lakes, scientists have not yet observed such bright marks on the rocks.
“This is the best evidence of water and waves that"we saw throughout the entire mission," explains Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. — The rover covered thousands of meters of lake sediments and we have never seen evidence like this. Now they have been found in a place that should be dry.”
A fragment of a panorama made by the Curiosity rover on Mount Sharp. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSS
Since last fall, the rover has been exploring the areawhich scientists call sulfate-bearing rock. Scientists believe this salt-rich region was formed when an ancient lake nearly dried up. The ripples appeared on the bottom of the shallow lake as winds created waves on the surface of the lake, changing the structure of the sediments.
The ripple tracks are located approximately 0.8 km from Mount Sharp. The 5-kilometer-tall mountain was once dotted with lakes and streams, according to NASA. Therefore, scientists are looking for signs of ancient Martian life there.
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