A NASA rover has discovered signs of an ancient river beneath Mars‘ surface, using ground-penetrating radar to reveal buried layers of sediment left behind by flowing water.
But this was not a lazy river. This was likely a larger and faster-moving channel than many scientists had accounted for, perhaps comparable to medium-size rivers on Earth.
Before NASA sent the Perseverance rover to Jezero Crater, geologists already believed the basin once held a bygone body of water. Orbital images showed classic delta landscapes on the surface, with fanlike deposits where a river might have emptied into a lake.
Perseverance’s findings add compelling direct evidence from below the surface. They suggest the Martian river, existing between 3.7 and 4.2 billion years ago, was part of a larger system than space satellites could see. Its currents may have been capable of carrying sand and small rocks downstream.
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