Delta Crater Lake: Detailed panorama from NASA Perseverance
(ORDO NEWS) — On February 18, 2021, NASA‘s Perseverance rover landed in Lake Jezero Crater and was sent to the Red Planet to search for possible traces of ancient extraterrestrial life.
One of the key targets of Perseverance was a proposed river delta flowing into the Lake Crater, which was once a deep water lake .
In July 2022, Perseverance arrived on site and began collecting data and samples, some of which were analyzed on site, while others were securely packaged in pressurized capsules that will be delivered to Earth after 2030 as part of a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
By studying the samples, Perseverance learned the following:
- Lake Crater was a lake
- The supposed delta of the river really turned out to be a delta, and the turbulent flow of the river delivered rocks to the Lake that formed in a completely different region of Mars
- Volcanic activity “thrived” on the Red Planet, and this is confirmed by the igneous (igneous) rock found in Lake Jezero
- It is likely that Mars was still inhabited, as indicated by organic molecules associated with sulfates, which were found in the river delta
Was/is there life on Mars?
Unfortunately, we don’t know this, but the data obtained by Perseverance, and earlier by the legendary NASA Curiosity rover, provide indirect evidence that the neighboring planet was once inhabited (we are talking, of course, about microorganisms).
Further research, and then the study of samples in terrestrial laboratories, will allow us to give an accurate answer to an intriguing question within 15 years.
We invite you to relax and appreciate the surroundings of Perseverance – a dry river delta that once flowed into the Lake.
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