2023-09-19 15:45:01
The Curiosity robot has reached difficult-to-access terrain on Mars where there are scattered stones that, according to all indications, were dragged there by the force of an enormous flow of water flowing down the mountain.
This boulder-strewn terrain has been given the name Gediz Vallis Ridge.
Water is an essential ingredient of life and that is why with each discovery of evidence of the long-ago existence of liquid water on the surface of Mars, the chances of finding traces of life on the Red Planet increase.
Three billion years ago, in the middle of one of the last wet periods on Mars, a large flow of water washed mud and stones down the side of a huge mountain. The dragged material was deposited on flat terrain, which was subsequently eroded by the wind until an imposing ridge was formed. Traces of the Red Planet’s fascinating aquatic past are preserved on that ridge.
Now, after three attempts, NASA’s Curiosity, which has been exploring the surface of Mars since 2012, has managed to ascend the ridge. Previous attempts were hampered by sharp-edged rocks and steep slopes. After climbing one of the most difficult slopes it has ever faced, the robot arrived on August 14 at an area from which it was able to study the ridge with its 2-meter robotic arm.
A sector of Gediz Vallis Ridge. Clearly, the stones scattered on the ground are very different from the ground on which they rest. This and other features indicate that they formed elsewhere. A strong current of water that carried away a lot of material is the best explanation of how they got here. (Photo: NASA JPL / Caltech / MSSS)
“After three years, we finally found a point on Mars that allowed Curiosity to safely access the steep ridge,” explains NASA’s Ashwin Vasavada, a member of Curiosity’s science team.
The robotic rover has been ascending the bottom of the 5km-high Mount Sharp since 2014, discovering signs of ancient lakes and streams along the way.
As mission scientists continue to analyze the new set of images and data from Gediz Vallis Ridge, Curiosity has already focused on its next challenge: finding a path to the channel above the ridge to explore it and try to figure out how and why where the water flowed down Mount Sharp. (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
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