Study shows Mars had less water than previously thought
They also used the models to explore self-consistent combinations of recharge (rainfall or precipitation) and hydraulic conductivities.
They also used the models to explore self-consistent combinations of recharge (rainfall or precipitation) and hydraulic conductivities.
Continuing to document new diagenetic features like the Blackthorn Salt is important because it could help researchers figure out when liquid water disappeared from Mars.
China launched its Mars probe -- Tianwen-1 -- on July 23, last year. The spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, entered the parking orbit of Mars on February 24 this year..
"A primary goal of the Curiosity mission was to study the transition between the habitable environment of the past, to the dry and cold climate that Mars has now,"
The research team from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) found that around four billion years ago, Mars was home to enough water to have covered the whole planet in an ocean about 100 to 1,500 metres deep; a volume roughly equivalent to half of Earth's Atlantic Ocean.
A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life.