NASA: In the “light” clear images of a large ancient lake on Mars

The first scientific analysis of the images sent by him Mars on Earth the robotic rover «Perseverance» (Insistence) of the US Space Agency (NASA), confirm the initial assumptions of scientists that the Jezero crater in which it moves, was once a large lake, which was fed by the delta of a river about a year ago 3.7 billion years.

Today, on Mars there is no water at all in liquid form, as the planet is very cold and the pressure in its sparse atmosphere is very low. It is estimated that Mars it dried up about 2.5 billion years ago, probably when it lost its protective magnetic field and then its once dense atmosphere. But the new discovery is another indication that the neighboring planet it was once quite hot and humid to have, like the Earth, its own hydrological cycle, at least at times.

Also, images from Perseverance cameras, which are of higher resolution and clarity than any other rover in the past, provide solid evidence that billions of years ago the 45-kilometer Jezero crater received – for some unknown reason – sudden floods, with water flow rate of up to nine meters per second, which could move up to 3,000 cubic meters of water in one second. These floods were strong enough to move large rocks, one meter in diameter and weighing several tons, who were originally located at a distance of tens of kilometers outside the crater, and finally deposited them at the bottom of the lake, where today they are now exposed, as reported by APE-MPE.

Dozens of researchers, who published in the journal Science, estimate that the lake was calm for a long time, until a dramatic climate change for some unknown reason or a large meteor shower or intense volcanic activity triggered the massive melting of ice and then violent floods. It is estimated that the lake that once existed in the current crater, had an area of ​​about 900 square kilometers.

“When you look at these pictures, you basically see one epic desert landscape. It is the loneliest place one could visit. There is no drop of water anywhere, yet we now have clues to a very different past. “Something very important has happened in the history of the planet,” said MIT professor of planetary science Benjamin Wise, one of the scientists who analyzed the data.

As the car-sized rover explores the crater, which it had reached on February 18, 2021, having already traveled 2.6 kilometers, scientists hope to find out more about the evolution of the climate on Mars. After all, having confirmed that the crater was once a lake, they are optimistic that in the sediments of its former seabed they will find traces of ancient aquatic life. That is why the rover will search for and collect samples of such sediments, which will be sent to Earth in the early 2030s for laboratory analysis and the discovery of possible Martian “bio-signatures”.

“We now have the opportunity to look for fossils. It will take us some time until we have rocks in our hands in which we really hope to find traces of life. “It is a marathon, but with many prospects,” said Tania Bozak, Associate Professor of Geobiology at MIT.

Here you will see the relevant scientific publication.