NASA’s Curiosity rover has made a groundbreaking discovery on Mars, finding evidence of waves in an ancient lake on the red planet. This revelation suggests that Mars had open waters for a longer period in its history than previously believed. The discovery is a significant one, as it sheds new light on the planet’s past and raises questions about the potential for life on Mars.
A lake impossible to see … until technology arrived
Today, Mars is a cold and dry desert, with underground ice patches and polar caps at its poles. However, millions of years ago, liquid water flowed freely on the planet. The various NASA Mars explorers have discovered signs that there was once liquid water on Mars, but perhaps the most compelling evidence of a shallow, ice-free lake comes from two sets of undulations in the Martian rock recently found. These undulations are a clear indication that water once flowed on the planet’s surface.
Thanks to NASA robots like the Curiosity, Perseverance, and InSight rovers, we have witnessed discoveries that would have been impossible to make from Earth. This lake, which was previously invisible to human eyes, is no longer an obstacle to technology. The Curiosity rover has found liquid water undulations carved into Mars’ rock, which could rewrite the history of the red planet. It is believed that these undulations formed around 3.7 billion years ago, during a period when Mars was thought to be drying out. However, their presence indicates that Mars’ climate would have been quite warm, and its surface would have been wet at that time.
Water would have been exposed to the elements instead of being covered by ice
Mars, known for its red color due to iron oxide present in the material on its surface, is classified as a terrestrial planet. It is similar to Earth in many aspects, with valleys, volcanoes, and even evidence of dried river channels. However, it differs due to its polar caps composed of carbon dioxide ice, which makes its atmosphere uninhabitable and its surface cold and dry. Mars has always fascinated us, largely due to vague hints over the centuries of extraterrestrial intelligence, but more recently, due to the possibility that it could have been habitable.
The primary objective of the Curiosity rover is to investigate the planet’s weather and geology and evaluate whether they could have supported primitive life in the past. In fact, it has already found fascinating evidence, such as signs of life in the rocks. The undulations are small and are usually seen on beaches or beds on Earth when the wind blows water from shallow areas. Scientists are excited, as this indicates that water was not frozen and was exposed to the elements in its liquid state at some point.
What does it mean for humanity and its life expectancy on another planet?
From these undulations, researchers have not only determined the existence of a shallow lake but also its depth. Using a computer model, Caltech Geology Professor Michael Lamb discovered that the size and spacing of the undulations indicate that the lake had a depth of less than six feet (two meters). Some undulations were found in the Prow outcrop, which was formed by dunes made by the wind. Other undulations were near the rocky strip rich in amorphous marker sulfates. These two areas are from different times, which indicates that the warm and dense atmosphere occurred several times or for an extended period. In other words, living organisms may have had a longer window in which they could have evolved on the red planet.
The discovery will allow scientists to map the changing conditions of the weather on Mars. While we still have a long way to go, it may be a beacon of hope for inhabiting Mars in the future. The possibility of finding life on Mars, either in the past or present, is a tantalizing one, and this discovery brings us one step closer to understanding the planet’s potential for supporting life.
