NASA's Curiosity rover discovers unusual 'boxwork' patterns on Mars linked to ancient waterways

NASA’s Curiosity rover is getting a firsthand look astatine a portion connected Mars antecedently lone seen from orbit that features a "boxwork" pattern, on with grounds of past waterways, including rivers, lakes and possibly an ocean.

New images and information from the Mars rover person already raised questions astir however the reddish planet’s aboveground was changing billions of years ago. Scientists are inactive unable, though, to reply wherefore the planet’s h2o yet dried up and converted the aboveground into a chilly desert.

Curiosity rover is successful an country called Gale Crater, and grounds has shown that erstwhile it was formed, h2o was percolating nether the surface.

NASA said the rover had recovered grounds of groundwater successful the crater erstwhile it encountered crisscrossing debased ridges, immoderate of which were lone a fewer inches gangly and were described by geologists arsenic being arranged successful a boxwork pattern.

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NASA's Curiosity rover took a representation of boxwork patterns connected Mars, which scientists released June 23. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Beneath the ridges is bedrock scientists judge formed erstwhile groundwater trickled done the stone and near down minerals that accumulated successful the cracks and fissures. The minerals past hardened and became cement-like.

The formations were worn distant aft what NASA called "eons of sandblasting" from Martian wind, though the minerals remained and revealed a web of resistant ridges within.

Rover has already analyzed ridges that scientists accidental look much similar a crumbling curb.

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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this country portion looking retired crossed a portion filled with boxwork patterns, debased ridges that scientists deliberation could person been formed by groundwater billions of years ago. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

But the patterns created implicit clip agelong crossed miles of a furniture connected the 3-mile-tall Mount Sharp. The rover has been climbing the foothills of Mount Sharp since 2014, NASA said.

What scientists besides find absorbing astir the boxwork patterns is they person not been recovered anyplace other connected the upland by orbiters overhead oregon Curiosity.

"A large enigma is wherefore the ridges were hardened into these large patterns and wherefore lone here," said Curiosity task idiosyncratic Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory successful Southern California. "As we thrust on, we’ll beryllium studying the ridges and mineral cements to marque definite our thought of however they formed is connected target."

NASA said the patterns are recovered successful a portion of Mount Sharp formed during assorted eras of the past Martian climate. So, arsenic the rover ascends from the oldest layers to the youngest, it is fundamentally clip traveling and searching for signs that h2o existed connected Mars and which environments would person supported microbial beingness successful the planet’s past times.

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A self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows the robot astatine a drilled illustration tract called "Duluth" connected the little slopes of Mount Sharp connected Mars successful 2018.  (NASA/JPL-CALTECH/MSSS/HANDOUT/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

"The rover is presently exploring a furniture with an abundance of salty minerals called magnesium sulfates, which signifier arsenic h2o dries up," NASA said. "Their beingness present suggests this furniture emerged arsenic the clime became drier. "Remarkably, the boxwork patterns amusement that adjacent successful the midst of this drying, h2o was inactive contiguous underground, creating changes seen today."

Recent clues exposed connected Mars whitethorn supply further penetration for scientists into wherefore the boxwork patterns formed wherever they did.

The bedrock betwixt the ridges has a batch of tiny fractures filled with achromatic veins of calcium sulfate, which is simply a salty mineral near down erstwhile groundwater trickles done cracks successful rocks, NASA said. In the little layers of the mountain, akin veins were plentiful, and 1 was adjacent enriched with clays. But, until now, nary of the veins had been spotted successful the sulfate.

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"That’s truly surprising," said Curiosity Deputy Project Scientist Abigail Fraeman of JPL. "These calcium sulfate veins utilized to beryllium everywhere, but they much oregon little disappeared arsenic we climbed higher up Mount Sharp. The squad is excited to fig retired wherefore they’ve returned now."

The Curiosity rover was launched Nov. 26, 2011, and landed connected Mars Aug. 5, 2012. Its ngo was to find retired whether Mars ever had the close biology conditions to enactment life, and, aboriginal on, the rover discovered chemic and mineral grounds of habitable environments from the past.