Was there an ancient lake on Mars? New research confirms that there is a presence of lake sediments.
The Jezero crater has captivated scientists since its discovery in 2005. Some studies suggested that the crater was home to an ancient lake with flowing rivers that dried out between 3.5 billion years and 3.8 billion years ago. In a new study, more evidence gathered by the Perseverance Rover's ground penetrating radar confirmed the presence of lake sediments. The find has reignited anticipation for when rock samples from Mars return to Earth in the early to mid-2030s. "From orbit we can see a bunch of different deposits, but we can't tell for sure if what we're seeing is their original state, or if we're seeing the conclusion of a long geological story," said David Paige, study first author and planetary scientist at UCLA, in a statement. "To tell how these things formed, we need to see below the surface." Radar Reveals Hints of Mars' Past An artistic rendering of Perseverance and RIMFAX (Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech/FFI) Between May and December of 2022, the Perseverance Rover drove from the crater's floor to the delta and collected data on what lies underneath the sediment using the Rader Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX). The radar forms images by sending waves at 10-centimeter intervals under the surface, which bounce back and detect the rock layers and other features underground. Each feature's shape, density, and angles are…