it looks like the surface of the planet Mars
It may be hard to believe, but our planet and Mars is actually not so different. A recent study published in the suggests that the Red planet in the past looked more like an oasis than a desert. Now, thanks to it became known that this arid and inhospitable planet in the Solar system 3.5 billion years ago was covered with rivers and lakes. Data from Curiosity also show that the ancient salty water in the Martian rocks are full of mineral salts. This means that the planet in the past was dominated by unstable climate.
In 2018, NASA and Google have created , which is available to every Internet user right now. Carefully examining the map, you have to understand where it was collected data of the Mars Curiosity Rover, which landed near the crater Gale and its future path paved your way up . The study of this area allowed the Rover to make a large ground plan of the eleven ponds and streams that have experienced intermittent periods of flooding and evaporation, until finally disappeared, leaving mud cracks and dry riverbeds.
Map of Mars from NASA and Google looks like this
Team Leader William Rapin from the California Institute of technology explained the reasons why it was decided to send the Rover in Gale crater. The fact that the crater retains a unique trace changes of Mars. The researchers came to the conclusion that Gale crater was the result of the fall of a huge asteroid on the Red planet. Water and wind, subsequently, helped the residues to accumulate in the crater layer by layer. Thus, the area near the crater and of mount sharp is a geological history of the fourth planet from the Sun. More news about the incredible discoveries in astronomy read on .
Possible mud cracks, preserved in the Martian rock: a network of cracks in the Martian stone slab, called the "Old Soaker" may have formed as a result of drying of the layer of mud more than 3 billion years ago.
As soon as rises to mount sharp, scientists see a General trend of transition of the landscape from a wet to a dry. However, the landscape change was not linear. Most likely several periods alternated between them. But over what period of time Mars was transformed from an oasis in the desert? Experts believe that the answer lies in the region of Gale crater, which the team calls "sulfate unit". It is believed that this area was formed in a much drier period, while the base of mount sharp in the more humid.
So, if Mars in the past was the oasis, then does this mean that the red planet had life? Scientists can not yet answer this question, we rst need to understand when and how the planet's climate began to develop, as well as when and how long conditions on Mars were suitable to sustain microbial life.
the Martian oasis could look like this
Perhaps the answer may be on the island of Sutton — this is a plot of sediment height of 500 feet with a series of mud cracks, which also indicate that once the water was periodically flooded the area. A distinctive feature of the island Sutton is also that salt which remains after evaporation of water — is not only table salt, but mineral salts. These salts kristallizuetsya in the aquatic environment, which is below the dried ponds. And yet experts doubt that they will be able to detect the fossils of Martian microbes. What do you think, will we find traces of life on Mars? Share your thoughts in the comments as well as participants .
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