NASA's rover photo shows water once absolutely gushed on Mars

Multimedia

22-07-2023, 23:57

+A -A

INA - SOURCES

The Red Planet, long ago callously stripped of its insulating atmosphere, is today 1,000 times drier than the driest desert on Earth. But deep, roaring rivers used to flow through parts of the ancient Martian landscape. Earlier this year, NASA's car-sized Perseverance rover found evidence of a "rollicking" and "high-energy river." The waterway, evaporated billions of years ago, left evidence of the pebble-rich debris it once transported.

Now, the space agency's rover, exploring Mars' Jezero Crater, has spotted evidence of perhaps vastly more water. As the image below shows, Perseverance snapped images of an expansive boulder field. These large rocks were almost certainly moved by water, similar to how such rocks are moved on Earth.

"These boulders were transported by water that was either deeper or flowed faster than the ancient waterway that deposited the smaller pebbles that also populate the area," NASA wrote.