Ancient lakebed found on Mars
Posted: Fri, Mar 7, 2008, 6:26 AM ET (1126 GMT)
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft has taken images of what scientists believe is an ancient lakebed that could have once supported life. Images of Holden Crater show old conglomerations of rocks, called megabreccia, topped by a layer of clay sediment. Planetary scientists believe that the clay was deposited over a period of thousands of years when the crater was a lake; that clay could preserve any evidence of a past habitable environment there. The crater wall was later breached in a flood, exposing those lower layers as well as boulder-strewn upper layers. The crater is one of six candidate landing sites for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, scheduled for launch in 2009, and could be considered for future sample return missions.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft has taken images of what scientists believe is an ancient lakebed that could have once supported life. Images of Holden Crater show old conglomerations of rocks, called megabreccia, topped by a layer of clay sediment. Planetary scientists believe that the clay was deposited over a period of thousands of years when the crater was a lake; that clay could preserve any evidence of a past habitable environment there. The crater wall was later breached in a flood, exposing those lower layers as well as boulder-strewn upper layers. The crater is one of six candidate landing sites for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, scheduled for launch in 2009, and could be considered for future sample return missions.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Vast signs contract with SpaceX for ISS private astronaut missions
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:59 AM ET (1659 GMT) Avio signs ESA contracts for Vega upgrades and Earth science satellite launch
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:57 AM ET (1657 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Tuesday, December 24
NASA Selects Firefly Aerospace to Deliver UCF’s Lunar-VISE Payload to the Moon
Univ. of Central Florida — 10:15 am ET (1515 GMT) Space Force's 5th birthday brings new training, challenges and growing threats from China
Colorado Springs Gazette — 10:14 am ET (1514 GMT) Refueling and Maneuvering Satellites in Orbit Is Key to National Security
Air and Space Forces Magazine — 10:13 am ET (1513 GMT) Space Operations Command preps for new shared domain awareness tool
Defense News — 10:12 am ET (1512 GMT) SpaceX, Amazon in talks with British Airways owner on Wi-Fi deal
Bloomberg News — 10:10 am ET (1510 GMT) |
