The discovery of water on Mars has been considered as one of the recent breakthroughs in space exploration. It has stirred up renewed interest in ordinary people and encouraged scientists and researchers to pursue their study of the Red Planet further.
Researchers who are doing a study of Mars are now saying that they are discovering more about the planet. This being, that the Red Planet did not just simply have water in it but actual rivers that run for miles.
This is based on the evidence found by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. In 2013, rover Curiosity discovered small, round stones near Gale Crater where it landed. According to the researchers analysis, these stones are similar to what can be usually found in riverbeds on Earth. The Martian stones are also said to have the same round quality that the stones here on Earth have. They are usually formed by flowing down in rivers, being shaped as they bounce around.
Researchers are saying that these stones not prove that there were once rivers in the Red Planet, it could also reveal that it has once supported life on the planet.
John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, told Space.com that life is an essential ingredient for life to exist. The study lead author also said that the information they gather about the distance these stones have been carried in the river may reveal how stable the water is on Mars to support life.
This statement was supported further by Grotzinger's study co-author, Gábor Domokos, an applied mathematician from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Domokos said that observing an object can reveal substantial information. Domokos even referred to the sand found in the beach saying that these are proof of history that once studied will give understanding of the past.
The researchers did a lot of tests to prove their theory. They formulated a mathematical model to compute the changes erosion made on the stones. The researchers also studied how the formation of sediments in a stream found in New Mexico looks similar to the place where they found the Martian objects. From here, they will be able to determine the distance that the stones were carried.
Scientists are still studying this recent discovery that could possibly prove life will be able to exist on Mars. More details about their study can be found in Nature Communications.
