New images show traces of a once very-wet Mars with different ages and stages of water-influenced geology, findings that could determine where Mars rovers land to look for traces of life.
“When clays settle out in a wet environment, it can preserve any organic material that might have existed in the water,” said Scott Murchie, a principal investigator with Johns Hopkins? Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel which released the findings.
Images in today?s Nature show various claylike minerals settling along a dry delta in Jezero Crater, 18 degrees north of the Martian equator, and at other locations.
“The big surprise from these new results is how pervasive and long-lasting Mars? water was, and how diverse the wet environments were,” Murchie said.
Meanwhile, the European Space Agency released false-color topographic maps Wednesday showing the cliffs, valleys and plateaus of Echus Chasma, thought to have been one of the largest water-source regions on Mars.
Comparable to Earth?s Grand Canyon, the chasm filters into what looks like a sea on the maps.
Where did all the water go?
The water could be locked into water-bearing minerals in the rock or have been blown away by the solar wind when the planet?s magnetic field died, more than 3.5 million years ago, Murchie said.
