NASA Mars Curiosity rover finds an ‘ancient oasis’ – CNET

NASA scientists judge Mars might perchance perchance additionally merely beget had an oasis atmosphere round 3.5 billion years ago, they stated Monday. Proof of ponds scattered all over a 100-mile-wide basin known as the Gale Crater became stumbled on by the Curiosity rover, which stumbled on mineral salts mixed with sediment in rocks.

Curiosity is for the time being exploring every layer of the Gale Crater and Mount Inspiring to direct the historic previous of Mars, which scientists have might perchance perchance additionally merely beget long previous from an underwater landscape with deep lakes to an oasis-vogue series of shallow ponds.

“Streams might perchance perchance beget laced the crater’s walls,” NASA stated Monday, adding “native climate fluctuations” modified the atmosphere from moist to barren arena. Curiosity had beforehand stumbled on proof of freshwater lakes on Mars, too.

“We went to Gale Crater since it preserves this odd legend of a changing Mars,” stated William Rapin of Caltech. “When and how prolonged became Mars capable of supporting microbial existence on the ground?”