Curiosity Rover Unveils Evidence of Ancient Riverbeds on Mars Hinting at Potential for Life
New Analysis of Curiosity Rover Data Shows Mars Craters as Likely Remnants of Fluid Rivers, Offering Optimistic View of Ancient Life Conditions on the Planet
- A new study led by Benjamin Cardenas, assistant professor of geosciences at Penn State, suggests that numerous craters on Mars were once habitable rivers, providing potential conditions for ancient life.
- The researchers used numerical models to simulate erosion on Mars, concluding that common crater formations, called bench-and-nose landforms, are most likely remnants of ancient riverbeds.
- Previous studies had considered other erosional landforms as candidates for ancient river deposits; this study highlights the possibility of undiscovered river deposits elsewhere on the planet, and suggests a larger section of the Martian sedimentary record could have been built by rivers during a habitable period.
- In creating their simulations, the researchers made use of 25-year-old scans of Earth’s stratigraphy, collected by oil companies, and applied to Mars. The similarity of the erosion patterns between Earth and Mars suggests the presence of numerous rivers on Mars, and consequently, conditions suitable for life.
- NASA's Curiosity Rover continues to play a vital role in collecting data for the analysis of Mars' surface features. Curiosity's findings provide a living record of the planetary changes Mars has undergone over millions of years, revealing signs of erosions, atmospheric thinning, and water evaporation.
BGR 
Space.com 
