Mars Was Once Hit By Flood of Unthinkable Proportions
The fourth planet from the Sun is the most studied planet after Earth, yet now and then astrophysicists discover something new. The researchers who conducted this study say their finding could answer the long-standing question of whether the Red Planet ever hosted life.
A new study conducted by scientists from Jackson State University, Cornell University, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Hawaii revealed that a flood of unimaginable proportions hit the Red Planet about 4 billion years ago.
“We identified megafloods for the first time using detailed sedimentological data observed by the rover Curiosity,” said Alberto G. Fairén, a visiting astrobiologist in the College of Arts and Sciences and co-author of the study. “Deposits left behind by megafloods had not been previously identified with orbiter data.”
According to the findings of the study, which were published in the journal Scientific Reports on 5 November, researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining data from the Curiosity rover, which has been studying the surface of the Red Planet since 2012. The rover specifically studied Gale Crater and its sedimentary layers. Examination of geological features is a way to travel back in time and look at how water, wind and other things affected the planet.
Curiosity noticed giant wave-shaped features in Gale Crater often called “megaripples”. According to the study, these “megaripples” are a sign that enormous floods once washed through Gale Crater on Mars’ equator.
But how did all this water appear on Mars?
The researchers say the most likely cause of the humongous flood was heat triggered by a meteorite hitting the Red Planet. Besides the fact that the heat melted ice on Mars, the collision resulted in a release of carbon dioxide and methane from the planet’s frozen reservoirs. These gases in turn resulted in warm and wet conditions on the Red Planet, creating heavy rains, which possibly occurred in every part of Mars.
Alberto G. Fairén says the study suggests that in its early days, Mars had the conditions to support the presence of liquid water on the surface. “So early Mars was a habitable planet. Was it inhabited? That’s a question that the next rover Perseverance … will help to answer”, Fairén said.
The Perseverance rover was launched in July and is expected to reach the Red Planet in February of 2021. Astronomers hope that the rover will learn about the climate processes that turned Mars into an uninhabitable planet, the composition of its surface, and whether the Red Planet at one point hosted life. The agency hopes that the rover will also help to prepare for a potential manned mission to Mars.
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Tom O
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Let’s see, the rover is only capable of barely more than surface searching at best. I would have to say, with all due respect, it appears to me this is a group of scientists experiencing a communal wet (as in water) dream.
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Brian James
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Jul 30, 2020 Landing on Mars: NASA Langley’s role in Mars 2020
The #CountdownToMars is on! Our team of researchers and engineers supported efforts to certify the rover’s parachute and run critical computer simulations that will allow NASA’s Perseverance rover to land safely on Mars.
https://youtu.be/mMLO_zq4R_o
May 25, 2020 First Map of Mars Electric Currents
Unlike Earth, Mars lacks a protective global magnetic field to shield its upper atmosphere from the solar wind. Instead, the solar wind crashes into the upper atmosphere and its magnetic field lines drape around the planet.
https://youtu.be/KkKak9bNGjU
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Jerry Krause
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Hi Brain,
You began: “The Countdown To Mars is on!”
I agree with you totally. We must keep NASA employees and these scientists who write and publish such articles as this which advertised by Sputnik employed. The dust storms of Mars have been commonly observed and of course there have been studies by scientists which concluded that the apparent canals etc. are the not the result of water on the Mars’ surface. So, keep the controversy going to demonstrate the need for more very, very, very expensive search which has little practical significance.
Have a good day, Jerry .
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John Doran
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Graham Hancock’s fine book, America Before, makes a compelling case that Earth was impacted over a 21 year period by comet fragments which caused Earth to plunge back into a 1200 year ice age , about 12,800 years ago. There is mucho evidence including nano-diamonds & much else to indicate that an accomplished ancient civilisation & many megafauna were wiped out by this Younger Dryas Impact event.
His earlier book, Fingerprints Of The Gods, is also a great read.
JD.
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Wildman 100%
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Nice picture of Greenland here, phony, CGI Images and animations (j-tube video) and completely false story. This is for all of the wealth-draining brain-dead who call themselves scientists and their “useful idiot” followers!
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