NASA's very own Curiosity rover has spotted rocks with ripples of waves in an expectedly drier area of the red planet. The Space Academy reports how this serves as proof of a prehistoric lake.
Water on Mars
Ashwin Vasavada, a project scientist of the Curiosity, states how such evidence of Martian waves and waters is currently the best that they have spotted throughout the whole mission.
According to CNET, the Curiosity rover documented rock landscapes that revealed signs of Martian waves and waters. NASA also mentioned in a statement that over billions of years ago, shallow Martian waves stirred up sediments at its bottom and left these textures of wave ripples on the rocks.
However, it was a surprise for NASA scientists to see such compelling evidence in the Gale Crater of the red planet. Vasavada says how they have examined several lake deposits throughout the mission and yet they were not able to spot such clear water ripple textures. What made things even more surprising is that the particular area could have formed when Mars became drier.
CNET reports that the Curiosity rover is moving toward Mount Sharp, which is a Martian mountain that is 5 kilometers tall. The craft aims to see if this area could have had the potential to foster microbial existence. Knowing the water history of the crater is a vital part of the mission.
Martian Debris Spotted
Aside from this Martian wave and water evidence, NASA's Curiosity rover has also seen debris that were washed away by Mount Sharp landslides. Vasavada mentions how this debris may be the most recent water evidence that the team could ever spot. The presence of such debris enables the study of upper layers of Mount Sharp that Curiosity cannot cover.
NASA mentions how the mountain serves as a timeline of some sort, given how older layers can be found in the bottom and younger ones on top. These rippled rocks were found within the Marker Band, where a unique dark rock layer can be found.
The rover has tried to drill into these rocks in order to look at them more closely and to gain a deeper understanding of them. However, the rocks are extraordinarily difficult to drill into due to their hardness and have, in turn, led to various failed attempts. However, the team is still hopeful to spot softer rocks that they can successfully examine.
Vasavada notes how the presence of debris flows, wave ripples, and rhythmic layers reveal the complexity of Mars turned to a dry area from a wetland. He expresses how the red planet's ancient climate had an intricate complexity that mirrored that of the earth.
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