Water Flowed on Martian Surface as Recently as Two Billion Years Ago, Study Suggests planetaryscience space science
It’s commonly believed that Martian liquid water evaporated about 3 billion years ago, but a duo of planetary scientists from Caltech and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has found evidence that reduces that timeline significantly. Their analysis of data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars instrument onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals signs of liquid water on Mars as recently as 2 billion to 2.
“Our findings center on the chloride salt deposits left behind as icy meltwater flowing across the landscape evaporated,” said Caltech’s Professor Bethany Ehlmann and Dr. Ellen Leask from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “The discovery raises new questions about how long microbial life could have survived on Mars, if it ever formed at all. On Earth, at least, where there is water, there is life.”
To create digital elevation maps, the researchers used images captured by two MRO cameras: the Context Camera and the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment .
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