The Mars rover, Curiosity, has beamed back photos of a collection of gravel and pebbles that scientists say are evidence that Mars once contained water!
The photos show stones of various sizes, some of which are rounded and smooth which is a sign that they’ve been pushed, moved and polished by a running body of water. Though Mars is now a massive lifeless desert, scientists have suspected that it once had lots of water. The existence of water means that there may possibly also have been life on Mars at one point!
Curiosity was sent to Mars to find out if it was ever possible for life to exist on the planet. While the discovery of this possible riverbed is encouraging, it is not enough proof. Curiosity will continue its journey to Mount Sharp in search for more organics.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Mars was named after the Roman god of war and nicknamed “The Red Planet” because it seems to be reddish-brown when seen from far away. Long ago, many people believed that the planet was red because there was actual blood on the planet!
- Unlike Earth, Mars has no ozone layer, so every time the sun rises on Mars, it is covered with a deadly amount of radiation.
- Mars was formed 4.5 billion years ago and has the same amount of dry land as the Earth.
- A Martian day is called a “sol” and there are 668 of them in a Martian year.
- In 1976, a “face” was found on Mars that had people wondering if Martians had existed orif other alien beings had planted the face on Mars. Sadly, it turned out to just be an optical illusion.