Mars has ancient ponds and deserts, NASA rover captures images
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Scientists have been pondering over Mar's similarities to Earth in terms of topography for a long time. NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has now found remains of ponds and deserts on the red planet.
The rover is now over a transitional region between a clay-rich region to a sulphate-rich region. The photos sent to the space agency show rocks that once were at the bottom of multiple stream beds. Dark boulders were seen in the sulphate-rich region that looks like they were formed from sand deposits in ancient rivers and ponds. A smattering of smaller greyish rocks strewn across a hill-remnants are also seen in one photograph.
Experts think these new details and images can help them create an idea about what the ancient days of Mars looked like. Many think it was once a vibrant landscape but later became arid. The latest images may also help scientists figure out how such a drastic transition happened.
Curiosity rover's team tweeted: "Pretty ain't it? I'm trekking through a transition zone between a clay-rich area and one filled with sulfate. Groundwater ebbed and flowed over time through these geologic features, leaving a puzzle my team and I can't wait to solve."
The team thinks the transition region shows that the groundwater levels changed over time and created the landscape the rover now found.
Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity's project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the rover is no longer seeing the lake deposits it saw on Mount Sharp for years. It has been climbing higher onto the slopes of Mount Sharp since 2014. It is now moving higher through the transition region.
He added that the current trek is showing evidence of drier climates, like dry dunes that occasionally had streams running around them. "That is a big change from the lakes that persisted for perhaps millions of years before".
Vasavada's team built and operates the Curiosity rover exploring Mars. They are preparing to celebrate the 10th Earth year of the rover on the red planet on August 5, 2022.