Mars was capable of sustaining life, has traces of gigantic flash floods on Gale crater, finds study
4 years, 4 months ago

Mars was capable of sustaining life, has traces of gigantic flash floods on Gale crater, finds study

India Today  

A new study at Scientific Reports has suggested that Mars was capable of sustaining life a long time ago. The findings on the gigantic flash floods on Mars' Gale crater were ascertained detailed sedimentological data observed by Nasa's Curiosity rover which was launched in November 2011. "We identified megafloods for the first time using detailed sedimentological data observed by the rover Curiosity," said study co-author Alberto G. Fairen from Cornell University. It includes the occurrence of giant wave-shaped features on the Gale crater, often called "megaripples" or "antidunes" which are about 30-feet high and spaced about 450 feet apart, author Ezat Heydari noted in the study. After the condensation formed water vapour clouds, creating torrential rains, entered Gale Crater and joined the water coming from Mount Sharp in Gale crater, producing flash floods.

Floods Mars Flash Floods Gale Crater Gale Crater Gigantic Flash Floods  water  ice  life  floods  flash  study  crater  megafloods  features  finds  gigantic  gale  traces  mars  sustaining

History of this topic

Evidence of hot water that’s essential to life points to Mars’ habitable past
4 months, 1 week ago

Evidence of hot water that’s essential to life points to Mars’ habitable past

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Researchers have uncovered what may be the oldest direct evidence of …

New study reveals the icy, cold climate of Mars' past, with implications for life
8 months, 2 weeks ago

New study reveals the icy, cold climate of Mars' past, with implications for life

Salon  

If life exists on alien worlds, scientists expect that the worlds in question would have certain basic properties. Upon examining materials discovered by NASA's Curiosity Rover in Mars' Gale Crater since 2011, the scientists compared those soils with analogous materials on Earth. The Gale Crater soil and rocks provide a record of Mars' climate from between 3 billion and 4 …

The secret history of water on Mars: What ancient climate change tells us about the future on Earth
1 year ago

The secret history of water on Mars: What ancient climate change tells us about the future on Earth

Salon  

If you suddenly found yourself standing on the surface of Mars, it would feel like you’d been transported into a dusty space western. “Whether you’re looking for signs of ancient life, trying to sustain human explorers, or making rocket fuel to get back home to Earth, it’s essential to know where the water would most likely be.” "Understanding groundwater flow …

Were seasonal climate patterns possible on early Mars?
1 year, 7 months ago

Were seasonal climate patterns possible on early Mars?

The Hindu  

New observations of mud cracks made by the Curiosity Rover show that high-frequency, wet-dry cycling occurred in early Martian surface environments, indicating that the red planet may have once seen seasonal weather patterns or even flash floods. These mud cracks reveal the transitional time when liquid water was less abundant but still active on the Martian surface, a release says. …

Mars rover reveals new details about Red Planet’s water history
2 years, 4 months ago

Mars rover reveals new details about Red Planet’s water history

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Scientists have discovered the presence of water-altered minerals and organic compounds on the …

Researcher finds first mineral evidence confirming water flowed on Mars longer than previously thought
3 years, 2 months ago

Researcher finds first mineral evidence confirming water flowed on Mars longer than previously thought

India Today  

While rovers trundle on the surface in search of ancient microbial life, the machines hovering above Mars have identified a crucial development in the evolution of the Red Planet. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has determined that water left salt minerals on the surface as recently as two billion years ago. It has already been determined that the surface of the …

Mars' surface shaped by fast, furious floods from overflowing craters
3 years, 6 months ago

Mars' surface shaped by fast, furious floods from overflowing craters

Deccan Chronicle  

Washington: A new study, led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, has found that massive floods from overflowing crater lakes had an outsized role in shaping the Martian surface, carving deep chasms and moving vast amounts of sediment. "If we think about how sediment was being moved across the landscape on ancient Mars, lake breach floods were …

Size matters: Mars was 'doomed from beginning' due to its small size to hold water
3 years, 6 months ago

Size matters: Mars was 'doomed from beginning' due to its small size to hold water

India Today  

Mars, the crimson Red Planet was always doomed and headed towards deterioration, not just because of major climatic events, but due to its small size to hold onto large amounts of water. Researchers have long believed that the Red Planet once hosted vast water lakes just like Earth, which is the centre of research for Curiosity and Perseverance rovers trundling …

Potential Life on Mars Likely Existed Several Miles Below Surface of Red Planet, Finds Study
4 years, 3 months ago

Potential Life on Mars Likely Existed Several Miles Below Surface of Red Planet, Finds Study

News 18  

If life ever existed on ancient Mars, it would have lived up to several miles below the surface of the Red Planet, likely due to subsurface melting of thick ice sheets fuelled by geothermal heat, according to a study. “Even if greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and water vapour are pumped into the early Martian atmosphere in computer simulations, climate …

Potential life on Mars likely lived below the surface: Study
4 years, 3 months ago

Potential life on Mars likely lived below the surface: Study

Hindustan Times  

If life ever existed on ancient Mars, it would have lived up to several miles below the surface of the Red Planet, likely due to subsurface melting of thick ice sheets fuelled by geothermal heat, according to a study. Even if Mars had a warm and wet climate 4 billion years ago, with the loss of the magnetic field, atmospheric …

Curiosity showed that Mars experienced a megaflood which leads us to believe life might've existed on the planet
4 years, 4 months ago

Curiosity showed that Mars experienced a megaflood which leads us to believe life might've existed on the planet

Firstpost  

A meteor struck Mars and caused mega ripples were about 9.1 meters high and spaced about 137.1 meters apart which is similar to those on Eearth. After analysing data collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover, scientists have found that a huge flood once washed over the Gale crater on Mars, around four billion years ago. According to lead author Ezat Heydari, …

Data from NASA's Curiosity Rover Hints at Ancient Megaflood in Mars: Study
4 years, 4 months ago

Data from NASA's Curiosity Rover Hints at Ancient Megaflood in Mars: Study

News 18  

Giant flash floods once washed through Gale Crater on Mars’ equator around four billion years ago, according to a study which hints at the possibility that life may have existed on the Red Planet. The research, published recently in the journal Scientific Reports, assessed data collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover — launched in November 2011 — and found that ”gigantic …

Mineral Composition of Meteorite Suggests Water Was Formed 4.4 Billion Years Ago on Mars
4 years, 4 months ago

Mineral Composition of Meteorite Suggests Water Was Formed 4.4 Billion Years Ago on Mars

News 18  

After analysing an ancient Martian meteorite, a team of Japanese researchers has revealed that water on the Red Planet originated some 4.4 billion years ago. But from the mineral composition of the meteorite, Mikouchi and his team revealed that it is likely there was water present much earlier, at around 4.4 billion years ago. This oxidation could have occurred if …

We might be totally wrong about water on Mars
4 years, 7 months ago

We might be totally wrong about water on Mars

Wired  

You’d be forgiven for not noticing it – with everything that’s been going on – but a passionate debate has been raging among astronomers. We’ve long known that Mars has water trapped in its polar ice caps, but the planet also leaves us tantalising clues that water was much more abundant than it is today. Mars’s valley networks are really …

Mars once had salt lakes similar to those on Earth: Study
5 years, 5 months ago

Mars once had salt lakes similar to those on Earth: Study

India TV News  

Mars once had salt lakes that went through wet and dry phases similar to those on the Earth, according to a study which indicates that the red planet's climate 'dried out' over a long time. The study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, noted that over 3 billion years ago the lake that was present in Gale Crater -- an …

Life may have existed on warm, rainy, ancient Mars before winter came
5 years, 7 months ago

Life may have existed on warm, rainy, ancient Mars before winter came

CNN  

CNN — Although Mars seems cold and inhospitable today, it was a different story 3 billion to 4 billion years ago. A new study suggests that the Red Planet was once warm enough to host pouring rainstorms and flowing water, which would have created an environment that could support simple life. The new study includes a comparison of mineral deposit …

Ancient Mars was home to large bodies of moving water, study suggests
6 years, 4 months ago

Ancient Mars was home to large bodies of moving water, study suggests

Daily Mail  

Massive floods that loomed more than 65 feet high may once have swept the surface of Mars. This is according to a new study, which argues that many of the rock depositions on the red planet are the result of large bodies of moving water, not just ‘a puny river.’ Researchers say Mars may once have been home to global …

Life on Mars a possibility after discovery of first-ever liquid water lake
6 years, 8 months ago

Life on Mars a possibility after discovery of first-ever liquid water lake

India Today  

The new revelation takes space enthusiasts' excitement to a next level. Boffins have discovered the first-ever liquid water lake on Mars and is thought to be the largest body of liquid water ever found on the Red Planet. New findings from Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars. - Orosei …

Heavy rainfall reshaped Mars' surface long ago: Study
7 years, 10 months ago

Heavy rainfall reshaped Mars' surface long ago: Study

Firstpost  

The fourth planet from the sun, Mars has geological features like the Earth and moon, such as craters and valleys Washington: Heavy rain on Mars reshaped the planet’s impact craters and carved out river-like channels on its surface billions of years ago, says a study. Changes in the atmosphere on Mars made it rain harder and harder, which had a …

Global warming scarred Mars' surface after warm periods that lasted 10 MILLION years
8 years, 3 months ago

Global warming scarred Mars' surface after warm periods that lasted 10 MILLION years

Daily Mail  

Deep canyons and valleys on Mars may have formed as the result of warming periods that stretched for up to 10 million years, melting the glaciers that covered its surface. According to the researchers, a build-up of greenhouse gases in the planet’s thick atmosphere may have spurred dramatic climate cycles, allowing for liquid water to emerge and later refreeze in …

Evidence of liquid water found on Mars; scientists say 'long way to go' to say whether Red Planet could support life
9 years, 6 months ago

Evidence of liquid water found on Mars; scientists say 'long way to go' to say whether Red Planet could support life

ABC  

Scientists analysing NASA data say they have found evidence of flowing water on the surface of Mars, but caution there is a "long way to go" before they can say if the Red Planet could support life. Scientists from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter mission take part in a Reddit AMA to elaborate on evidence of liquid water flowing on the …

Water flowed on Mars just 500k years ago which is more recent than thought
9 years, 9 months ago

Water flowed on Mars just 500k years ago which is more recent than thought

Daily Mail  

Water on Mars was flowing on the planet much more recently than first thought - and experts believe it is likely to appear again relatively soon. At the conclusion of their paper, the researchers said their study ‘also points to more habitable recent environments than previously predicted.’ However, de Haas noted that it did not reveal anything about potential life …

Volcanism may have triggered water flow on early Mars
10 years, 4 months ago

Volcanism may have triggered water flow on early Mars

ABC  

News in Science Volcanism may have triggered water flow on early Mars Volcanic Mars Volcanic eruptions could have kept Mars warm enough for liquid water to intermittently flow across its ancient surface, suggests a new study. "There's indisputable evidence that Mars was once warm enough for liquid water to flow on its surface," says one of the study's authors, Professor …

Could life on Mars have existed just 200,000 years ago? Young rock formations provide evidence of 'recent' water on the red planet
10 years, 11 months ago

Could life on Mars have existed just 200,000 years ago? Young rock formations provide evidence of 'recent' water on the red planet

Daily Mail  

Could life on Mars have existed just 200,000 years ago? Young rock formations provide evidence of 'recent' water on the red planet The young crater on Mars has features such as debris flows and gullies These were compared with debris flows on the Norwegian Svalbard islands They are thought to have been formed by liquid water after the most recent …

Liquid water on Mars? Maybe not.
17 years ago

Liquid water on Mars? Maybe not.

Slate  

A little over a year ago, NASA announced it had found strong evidence of liquid water flowing, at least temporarily, on the surface of Mars. They then modeled the way liquid water would flow under Martian conditions compared to how dry grains would flow. I started off thinking we were going to prove it’s liquid water.” Finding liquid water on …

Water May Still Flow on Mars, NASA Photo Suggests
18 years, 3 months ago

Water May Still Flow on Mars, NASA Photo Suggests

NPR  

Water May Still Flow on Mars, NASA Photo Suggests Enlarge this image toggle caption NASA/JPL/MSSS NASA/JPL/MSSS Enlarge this image toggle caption NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems Images of Mars suggest that water flowed on the planet's surface at sometime in the past five years, a discovery that raises the possibility that life may exist on Mars. Scientists …

Discover Related