What made these strange patterns?
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has come across a fascinating hexagonal pattern in salt deposits — and they look eerily reminiscent of Earth-based basins that dry out seasonally, providing a fascinating new clue about the ancient history of the Red Planet.
In other words, we've never been closer to confirming once and for all that the Red Planet went through periods of lush water-rich seasons and much drier conditions — something that could bring us a step closer to answering the question of whether Mars was once teeming with life as Earth is now.
As the Martian mud in the area dries out, it shrinks and cracks, forming T-shaped junctions, something Curiosity had already discovered. But now scientists are saying that prolonged — and more importantly recurring — exposure to water likely caused these cracks to turn into Y-shaped junctions, forming hexagonal patterns.
"This is the first tangible evidence we’ve seen that the ancient climate of Mars had such regular, Earth-like wet-dry cycles," said lead author William Rapin of France’s Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in a"But even more important is that wet-dry cycles are helpful — maybe even required — for the molecular evolution that could lead to life," he added.
"Over 11 years, we’ve found ample evidence that ancient Mars could have supported microbial life," said Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada. "Now, the mission has found evidence of conditions that may have promoted the origin of life, too."
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Mars is spinning faster, and scientists aren't sure whyData from NASA's InSight mission shows that Mars's rotation is speeding up and its days are growing slightly shorter. Scientists have a few ideas why.
Read more »
NASA scientists discover Mars is spinning fasterIn addition to providing amazing photos of the red planet, the InSight lander sent valuable data back to Earth.
Read more »
Watch Ingenuity Mars helicopter fly in amazing video from Perseverance roverPerseverance recorded Ingenuity's 54th Red Planet flight for posterity.
Read more »
Cosmic question mark spotted by Webb space telescope | Digital TrendsScientists have been intrigued by the appearance of a question mark captured in deep space by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Read more »
No quick fix to reverse Antarctic sea ice loss as warming intensifies - scientistsSea ice in the Antarctic region has fallen to a record low this year as a result of rising global temperatures and there is no quick fix to reverse the damage done, scientists said on Tuesday in a new study of the impact of climate change on the continent.
Read more »
How Scientists Create Oxygen for Astronauts on Prolonged Space MissionsDid you know? 🌌 Scientists are developing an artificial photosynthesis device to create oxygen in space, paving the way for future space missions to Mars & beyond! 🚀✨ Learn how innovation breathes life into the cosmos! 🌒🌍
Read more »