SAEDNEWS: Curiosity Rover Data Analysis Suggests Many Martian Craters May Once Have Been Rivers
According to the multimedia service SaedNews, citing Digiato, analysis of data from NASA’s Curiosity rover indicates that many of Mars’ craters may have once been riverbeds. These findings provide further evidence of potential past life on the Red Planet.
Benjamin Cardenas, an assistant professor of Earth sciences at Penn State and lead author of the new study, said, “We are uncovering evidence suggesting that Mars was likely a planet of rivers. We see signs of river activity across the planet.”
In a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, researchers used numerical models to simulate erosion on Mars over thousands of years. They found that the shapes of common craters are most likely remnants of ancient riverbeds.
This research represents the first study to train a computer model on a combination of satellite data, images captured by the Curiosity rover, and 3D stratigraphic scans—layers of rock deposited over millions of years. The analysis offers a new interpretation of how typical Martian craters formed.
Cardenas noted, “We have all the tools to examine the recorded features of Mars. This analysis is not solely based on images taken by the Curiosity rover.”
By examining data collected by Curiosity at Gale Crater, the team identified clear signs of past rivers. Researchers say these findings indicate that conditions on Mars could have supported life, suggesting the planet was once habitable.
Cardenas and his team also found a novel application for 25-year-old Earth stratigraphy scans in designing their computer model. He explained that scans of the subsurface of the Gulf of Mexico, originally collected by oil companies, provided valuable insights applicable to Martian geology.
