NASA rover finds evidence of liquid water on the surface of Mars

23 January 2025, 11:25 | Technologies
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NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars since August 2012 and recently discovered evidence of a liquid water lake on the Red Planet's surface in the distant past.. The rover discovered small irregularities similar to those seen in lake beds on Earth. These irregularities could have been created by the wind moving the water. This discovery suggests that 3.7 billion years ago, water on the surface of Mars was not frozen.. The study was published in the journal Science Advances, writes ScienceAlert.

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Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is known for its bright red color, which is caused by the presence of iron oxide in rocks on the planet's surface..

Mars is a rocky terrestrial planet and is similar to Earth in that there are terrestrial volcanoes, plains, mountains, and dried up river beds.. But this is where the similarities between Mars and our planet end. The polar caps on Mars are made of frozen carbon dioxide, the planet has an unbreathable atmosphere, very cold temperatures and a desert surface..

Scientists believe that microbial life could have existed on Mars in the distant past, but signs of it have not yet been found. The Curiosity rover, which has been studying the surface of Mars and its atmosphere in Gale Crater for almost 13 years, is also looking for them..

The Curiosity rover's main mission is to study the climate and geology of Mars and how they have changed over time.. The spacecraft must also assess whether conditions could have existed on Mars that supported microbial life in the distant past.. To achieve its goals, the rover has special instruments and cameras that allow it to study local rocks and atmosphere.

Now scientists have reported that Curiosity has made a very important discovery on Mars.. He discovered what appear to be ancient wave ripples on the surface of Mars that were created where a lake of liquid water was located billions of years ago..

These ripples are tiny irregularities and are often seen on beaches and lake beds on Earth when wind-driven water flows through shallow water.. According to scientists, this discovery means that the water on Mars was not frozen 3.7 billion years ago..

Ripples discovered in Gale Crater provide the strongest evidence yet that there were bodies of liquid water in the history of the Red Planet.. Scientists say the climate on Mars was much warmer back then and the atmosphere denser. This means that liquid water could exist in the open air and was not covered in ice..

The study authors created computer models to determine the size of the ancient lake based on the data obtained.. It is assumed that the lake is small and shallow, up to 2 meters deep.

As Focus already wrote, the Hubble telescope took the most detailed image of the Andromeda Galaxy, which will crash into the Milky Way. The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest huge galaxy to us and after a collision with the Milky Way, a truly gigantic object will be created.

Focus also wrote that the elusive “ignorosphere” reveals the secrets of the aurora on Earth. Scientists still have very little data about some layers of the Earth's atmosphere, but a new study helps correct this.

Based on materials: sciencealert.com



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