The study shows that Mars shifted between long periods of drying and wetter times before it dried completely in the near-dead world we see today about three billion years ago.
The data collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has been on Mars since 2012, was used by researchers at the Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology.
Curiosity explores the base of Aeolis Mons, a mountain a few miles high in the center of Gale crater, and researchers used a telescope on the vehicle to make detailed observations of the steep terrain in the distance.
Using the ChemCam tool, they discovered that the Martian climate alternates between dry and wet periods, before drying completely about 3 billion years ago.
View of the hills on the slopes of Mount Sharp, which show the different types of terrain that will soon be explored by the Curiosity rover and the ancient environments in which they formed, according to the sedimentary structures observed in the images of the ChemCam telescope
As Mars became dry, Earth could have been a world of water, according to previous studies, and Venus could have had the perfect environment for life to flourish.
While Venus suffered from a runaway greenhouse effect, creating the infernal world we see today, and Earth has become a thriving continental planet, Mars has remained dry.
Spacecraft in orbit around Mars had already provided clues about the mineral composition of the 18,000-meter mountain slopes, also known as Mount Sharp.
But now, ChemCam has successfully made detailed observations of sedimentary beds on the planet’s surface.
The instrument consists of a laser, camera and spectrograph that work together to identify the chemical and mineral compositions of rocks from a distance.
The use of this “telescope” allowed the team of scientists from the USA and France to reveal the conditions in which these sedimentary beds first formed.
Moving up through the ground, which is a few hundred meters thick, the types of beds change radically, the team explained.
Above the clays deposited by the lake, which forms the base of Sharp Mountain, the wide, high structures with cross beds are a sign of the migration of wind-formed dunes.
These dunes would have formed during an episode of long, dry climate, which is thought to have been common and interspersed with shorter, wetter periods.
The study shows that Mars switched between long periods of drying and wet times before it dried completely in the near-dead world we see today about three billion years ago.
Above, on the slope, the researchers discovered thin, fragile and resistant beds, alternating, which were typical of the floodplains of the river.
These mark the return of wetter conditions, probably the result of flooding in the Gale crater, where they explore Curiosity.
The climate on Mars has therefore undergone several large-scale fluctuations between dry conditions and the river and lake environment, the team revealed.
This happened until the generally arid conditions observed today caught on about three billion years ago – when the Earth was largely made up of water.
These mark the return of wetter conditions, probably the result of flooding in Gale crater, where they explore curiosity.
During her extensive mission to Mars, Curiosity is programmed to climb to the foot of Sharp Mountain and drill into its various beds to better understand their makeup.
During these climbs and drilling episodes, Curiosity will test this pattern of changes between wetter and drier periods on the Red Planet.
These periods characterize in more detail how the ancient climate evolved and, through more drilling through curiosity, can understand the origin of these major fluctuations, the team said.
The findings were published in the journal Geology.
ROVER NASA CURIOSITY ROVER LAUNCHED IN 2011 AND IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING THE RED PLANET
The Mars Curiosity rover was originally launched from Cape Canaveral, a US Air Force station in Florida, on November 26, 2011.
After embarking on a 560 million km (350 million mile) journey, the £ 1.8 billion ($ 2.5 billion) research vehicle descended just 2.4 km away. the intended place of landing.
After a successful landing on August 6, 2012, the rover traveled approximately 18 km.
It was launched on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft, and the rover accounted for 23% of the total mission mass.
With 80 kg (180 lb) of scientific instruments on board, the rover weighs a total of 899 kg (1,982 lb) and is powered by a plutonium fuel source.
The rover is 2.9 meters (9.5 ft) long and 2.7 meters (8.9 ft) wide and 2.2 meters (7.2 ft) high.
The curiosity rover on Mars was originally meant to be a two-year mission to gather information to help answer if the planet could support life, if it had liquid water, to study the climate and geology of Mars and since then has been active for more than 2,000 days
The rover was originally meant to be a two-year mission to gather information to help answer whether the planet could support life, whether it has liquid water, study the climate and geology of Mars.
Due to its success, the mission has been extended indefinitely and has now been active for over 2,000 days.
The rover has several scientific instruments on board, including the two-camera mastcam and can produce high-resolution images and videos in real colors.
Until now, on the journey of the car’s sized robot, he encountered an ancient liquid in which liquid water flowed, not long after he discovered that billions of years ago, a nearby area known as Yellowknife Bay was part of -a lake sustained microbial life.