Curiosity finds ancient stream bed on Mars

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if (mobile) { var mob_link = "<img src='https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://images.gizmag.com/layout/icons/cellphone.png'/><a id='article_mobile_link' class='small' href='https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://m.gizmag.com/article/24333'>View on mobile site</a>"; $jqr('.sd_top').append(mob_link); } // ]]></script> <a class="vsmall" href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/scienceandeducation/" style="float: left; ">SCIENCE AND EDUCATION</a> </div> <h1 id="ar_title">Curiosity finds ancient stream bed on Mars</h1> <div class="summary_details_left"> <p>By <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/author/david-szondy/" rel="author">David Szondy</a></p> <p><em>September 28, 2012</em></p> </div> <div class="summary_details_right"> <div class="has_comments"><a href="curiosity-stream-bed-water#comments">4 Comments</a></div> <div class="has_pictures"><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures">8 Pictures</a></div> </div> </div> <div id="article_share_rail"> <div class="as_button"><div class="fb-like" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-show-faces="false"></div><script type="text/javascript">_ga.trackFacebook();</script></div> <div class="as_button"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="gizmag">Tweet</a></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/"></div></div> <div class="as_button"><iframe style="overflow: hidden; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330if_/http://badge.stumbleupon.com/badge/embed/5/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmag.com%2Fcuriosity-stream-bed-water%2F24333%2F" width="50" height="60" id="iframe-stmblpn-widget-1"></iframe></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="pin-it-button" data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/" data-image="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/curiosity-streambed-water.jpg" data-description="NASA’s unmanned Curiosity rover has found the most direct evidence to date that ancient Mars once had running water. "></div></div> <div class="as_button"><script type="IN/Share" data-counter="top"></script></div> <div class="as_button" id="reddit_button_rail"><script type="text/javascript">reddit_newwindow='1'</script></div> </div> <div id="hero_box" style="width: 530px;"> <a id="hero_link" href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/hero/curiosity-streambed-water.jpg" title="Close up view of the Link outcropping (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)" width="530" height="297" alt="Close up view of the Link outcropping (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)"/></a> <div class="pic_caption"> <p>Close up view of the Link outcropping (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)</p> <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures" id="gallery_link">Image Gallery</a> (8 images) </div> <div class="clear_both"></div> </div> <div class="article_body"> <div id="top_unit"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330js_/http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script> <p>NASA’s unmanned Curiosity rover has found the most direct evidence to date that ancient Mars once had running water. The robot explorer discovered rock outcroppings thrusting from the Martian surface that are the remains of an ancient stream bed consisting of water-worn gravel that was washed down from the rim of Gale Crater where the nuclear-powered rover landed. This means that Mars was once a much wetter place and increases the chances that it once harbored life ... or still does.</p> <ul id="gallery_images"> <li><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#1" class="image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_tn/curiosity-streambed-water-0.jpg" title="Mosaic view of the Hottah outcropping (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)" alt="Mosaic view of the Hottah outcropping (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)"/></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#2" class="image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_tn/curiosity-streambed-water-1.jpg" title="Map showing Curiosity's path on Mars and the three stream bed outcroppings (Photo: NASA/JP..." alt="Map showing Curiosity's path on Mars and the three stream bed outcroppings (Photo: NASA/JP..."/></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#3" class="image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_tn/curiosity-streambed-water-2.jpg" title="Topographical image of Curiosity's exploration area showing the alluvial fan that carried ..." alt="Topographical image of Curiosity's exploration area showing the alluvial fan that carried ..."/></a></li> <li><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#4" class="image"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_tn/curiosity-streambed-water-4.jpg" title="A comparison of the Link outcrop of rocks on Mars (left) with similar rocks on Earth (rig..." alt="A comparison of the Link outcrop of rocks on Mars (left) with similar rocks on Earth (rig..."/></a></li> <li id="view_all"><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures" class="blue">View all<br/></a></li> </ul> <div class="clear_both"></div> <p>One of the great disappointments of the 20th century was the discovery that Mars, for all practical purposes, is a dead planet. In the 19th century, the observations of the Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli and his American counterpart Percival Lowell had given the public the popular image of Mars as an ancient world that was dying, yet still maintained water and life.</p> <p>This Mars, from the time of H.G. Wells to Edgar Rice Burroughs to Robert Heinlein, was the home to an ancient civilization that struggled to hold back the inevitable by building gigantic networks of canals that carried water from the Martian poles to the equator and irrigated regions large enough to be seen from Earth.</p> <div style="width: 530px; height: 397px; " class="article_img"><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#5" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/inline/curiosity-streambed-water-4.jpg" width="530" alt="A comparison of the Link outcrop of rocks on Mars (left) with similar rocks on Earth (rig..."/></a></div> <p>Unfortunately, the canals proved to be illusions and NASA’s Mariner probes of the 1960s put paid to a watery planet and replaced it with a Mars scarred by meteors and having hardly any water or air. In recent decades, this gloomy picture has softened a bit as later missions found evidence that <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/esa-marsis-radar-mars-ocean/21393/" target="_blank">water</a> might once have flowed on Mars millions or perhaps billions of years ago, and may even still be there in the form of permafrost deep beneath the surface.</p> <p>Now, according to NASA, the 4x4-sized Curiosity probe has found an ancient stream bed where water once flowed regularly from the rim of Gale Crater. The first hints that such a geological formation existed was at Bradbury Landing where Curiosity touched down. There, the sky crane that lowered the rover to the surface of Mars blasted away dust from an area dubbed “Goulburn” by mission control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.</p> <div style="width: 530px; height: 397px; margin-bottom: 1px;" class="article_img"><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#1" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/inline/curiosity-streambed-water-0.jpg" width="530" alt="Mosaic view of the Hottah outcropping (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)"/></a></div><div class="inline_caption" style="width: 530px; padding: 0;"><p>Mosaic view of the Hottah outcropping (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)</p></div><div class="clear_both"></div> <p>When Curiosity finished post-landing checks and began its explorations in earnest, it found outcroppings of gravel at the areas Link and Hottah, named after rock formations at Link Lake and Hottah Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada.</p> <p>Examined with the Curiosity’s high-definition mast camera, the outcroppings resemble shattered pavements – almost like badly mixed concrete. This is not far off. They are actually a conglomerate of gravel ranging in size from sand to small pebbles that have cemented together to form a layer. What is exciting about this is that it’s a classic sedimentary formation. Ever more important, many of the pebbles are rounded in such a way that indicates they were carried along by running water. In other words, this is an ancient Martian stream bed.</p> <div style="width: 530px; height: 409px; margin-bottom: 1px;" class="article_img"><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#3" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/inline/curiosity-streambed-water-2.jpg" width="530" alt="Topographical image of Curiosity's exploration area showing the alluvial fan that carried ..."/></a></div><div class="inline_caption" style="width: 530px; padding: 0;"><p>Topographical image of Curiosity's exploration area showing the alluvial fan that carried gravel from Peace Vallis (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UofA) </p></div><div class="clear_both"></div> <p>"From the size of gravels it carried, we can interpret the water was moving about three feet (1 m) per second, with a depth somewhere between ankle and hip deep," said Curiosity science co-investigator William Dietrich of the University of California, Berkeley. "Plenty of papers have been written about channels on Mars with many different hypotheses about the flows in them. This is the first time we're actually seeing water-transported gravel on Mars. This is a transition from speculation about the size of stream bed material to direct observation of it."</p> <p>Based on earlier images of the region taken from orbit, the stream bed is part of an alluvial fan of material that washed down over a long period of time from the rim of Gale Crater by way of a channel called Peace Vallis. The distance traveled from there would account for the rounded appearance of some of the stones.</p> <p>"The shapes tell you they were transported and the sizes tell you they couldn't be transported by wind. They were transported by water flow," said Curiosity science co-investigator Rebecca Williams of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona.</p> <div style="width: 530px; height: 398px; margin-bottom: 1px;" class="article_img"><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#2" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/inline/curiosity-streambed-water-1.jpg" width="530" alt="Map showing Curiosity's path on Mars and the three stream bed outcroppings (Photo: NASA/JP..."/></a></div><div class="inline_caption" style="width: 530px; padding: 0;"><p>Map showing Curiosity's path on Mars and the three stream bed outcroppings (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona)</p></div><div class="clear_both"></div> <p>These stones are important not only because they are evidence of water flowing on ancient Mars on a regular basis, but also because it gives scientists samples from the rim of Gale Crater. These are of particular interest because the rim is thought to contain clay and sulfate minerals, which may contain preserved organic chemicals that might indicate the existence of past or present life.</p> <p>"A long-flowing stream can be a habitable environment," said Mars Science Laboratory Project Scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. "It is not our top choice as an environment for preservation of organics, though. We're still going to Mount Sharp, but this is insurance that we have already found our first potentially habitable environment."</p> <div style="width: 530px; height: 298px; margin-bottom: 1px;" class="article_img"><a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/pictures#7" target="_blank"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/inline/curiosity-streambed-water-6.jpg" width="530" alt="Artist's concept of Curiosity showing its mast camera (Image: NASA)"/></a></div> <p>Because of this and the desire to learn more about the wet environment formed by these deposits, JPL may have Curiosity study the chemical composition of the gravel.</p> <p>The study of the stream bed is part of Curiosity's two-year mission to explore Mars in search of sites where life might have or still does exist. The rover <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-mars-landing/23593/" target="_blank">arrived on Mars</a> on August 6. Since then, JPL has put the nuclear-powered explorer through a rigorous three-week shakedown followed by a series of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-test-drive/23814/ " target="_blank">test drives</a>. During this time, Curiosity fired its rock-vaporizing <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-laser-firing/23761/" target="_blank">laser</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-streams-human-voice/23902/ " target="_blank">streamed</a> the first human voice from another planet, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-third-drive/23922" target="_blank">wrote messages</a> in the Martian soil, gave itself a thorough <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-third-drive/23922" target="_blank">self-examination</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-jake-matijevic-rock/24288" target="_blank">studied its first rock</a> using its robotic arm.</p> <p>The JPL video below discusses the recent stream bed discovery.</p> <p>Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120927.html" target="_blank">NASA</a></p>  <div class="article_video"><iframe width="530" height="298" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330if_/http://www.youtube.com/embed/HYHc2alzdUk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div>  <div id="bottom_unit"> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330js_/http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script> </div> </div>   <span class="title share_bar">Share</span> <div id="article_share_bar" class="dotsontop share_bar"> <div class="as_button fb_as_button"><div class="fb-like" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/" data-send="false" data-layout="box_count" data-show-faces="false"></div><script type="text/javascript">_ga.trackFacebook();</script></div> <div class="as_button"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330/http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-count="vertical" data-via="gizmag">Tweet</a></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-href="http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/"></div></div> <div class="as_button"><iframe style="overflow: hidden; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; " src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330if_/http://badge.stumbleupon.com/badge/embed/5/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmag.com%2Fcuriosity-stream-bed-water%2F24333%2F" width="50" height="60" id="iframe-stmblpn-widget-2"></iframe></div> <div class="as_button"><div class="pin-it-button" data-url="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330oe_/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-stream-bed-water/24333/" data-image="http://images.gizmag.com/hero/curiosity-streambed-water.jpg" data-description="NASA’s unmanned Curiosity rover has found the most direct evidence to date that ancient Mars once had running water. "></div></div> <div class="as_button"><script type="IN/Share" data-counter="top"></script></div> <div class="as_button" id="reddit_button_bar"><script type="text/javascript">reddit_newwindow='1'</script></div> </div>  <span class="title clear_left">About the Author</span> <div class="dotsontop" id="authorcontainer">  <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/author/david-szondy/"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/author_profiles/153.jpg" alt="David Szondy" id="bio_pic"/> </a>   David Szondy is a freelance writer based in Monroe, Washington. An award-winning playwright, he has contributed to Charged and iQ magazine and is the author of the website <em>Tales of Future Past</em>.   <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/author/david-szondy/">All articles by David Szondy</a> <br class="clear_both"> </div>  <div id="tags"> <span class="title">Tags</span> <div class="dotsontop"> <ul> <li>» <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/astronomy/" rel="tag">Astronomy</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/curiosity/" rel="tag">Curiosity Rover</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/jpl/" rel="tag">JPL</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/mars/" rel="tag">Mars</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/msl/" rel="tag">Mars Science Laboratory</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/nasa/" rel="tag">NASA</a></li> <li>» <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/tag/space/" rel="tag">Space</a></li> </ul> <div class="clear_both"></div> </div> </div> <div id="bing_unit"></div>  <span class="title" id="comments">4 Comments</span> <div class="dotsontop"> <div id="comment-164968" class="a_comment"> <p>Obviously they prob considered other liquids. But I always wonder how they decide it will be water and not something else. Does the sediment and erosion from other liquids (maybe liquid methane??) look distinctively different? </p> <span class="name">Calvin k</span><br> <span class="date"> 29th September, 2012 @ 07:03 am PDT</span> </div> <div id="comment-165022" class="a_comment"> <p>re; Calvin k </p> <p></p> <p>If you give Mars a thicker atmosphere it will get warmer as well this is especially true if the atmosphere is heavy in methane which is a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. So water really is the most likely liquid have been present in quantity on Mars. If Mars had a useful magnetic field it could probably maintain liquid water and a breathable atmosphere. </p> <span class="name">Pikeman </span><br> <span class="date"> 30th September, 2012 @ 01:23 am PDT</span> </div> <div id="comment-165322" class="a_comment"> <p>What it was or had is meaningless because what it has or doesn't have NOW means there is NO water or LIFE. If it had streams of gold - what good is it NOW? </p> <span class="name">donwine</span><br> <span class="date"> 1st October, 2012 @ 01:23 pm PDT</span> </div> <div id="comment-165736" class="a_comment"> <p>The dust storm may possibly effect erosive patterns very similar to those made by liquid water stream. If we go looking for evidence of our preconceptions we can always find them.. </p> <span class="name">Val Stavrev</span><br> <span class="date"> 2nd October, 2012 @ 10:47 pm PDT</span> </div> </div> <span class="title">Post a Comment</span> <div class="dotsontop" id="comment_form_div"> <div id="comment_form" data-article="24333"> <div id="comments_login"> <form action="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/index.php" name="login_form" id="login_form" onsubmit="return false;"> <p class="bold">Login with your gizmag account:</p> <p id="login_status"></p> <label for="email">Email</label><input type="text" name="email" id="email" value=""/> <label for="password">Password</label><input type="password" name="password" id="password" value=""/> <input type="submit" value="Log In" class="med"/> <div id="options"> <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/register/">Register here</a><br> <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/new_password/">Forgotten your password?</a> </div> <input type="hidden" id="expired_comment" value=""/> </form> </div> <div id="facebook_login"> <p>Or <span class="bold">Login with Facebook:</span></p><br/> <div class="fb-login-button" data-scope="email" data-max-rows="1" data-onlogin="loginFUser(24333);" data-autologoutlink="true"></div> </div> </div> <div class="clear_both"></div> </div>  <span class="title">Related Articles</span> <div id="related_articles" class="dotsontop"> <ul> <li> <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-rover-software/23673/" title="Gale Crater's rim as sen from Curiosity (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/related/curiosity-software.jpg" alt="Gale Crater's rim as sen from Curiosity (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)"/> </a> <a class="rel_title" href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-rover-software/23673/">NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity getting "brain transplant"</a> <p class="rel_date">11th August, 2012</p> </li> <li> <a href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-mars-landing/23593/" title="NASA's Mars lander Curiosity has landed safely on Mars (Image: NASA)"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20121101061330im_/http://images.gizmag.com/related/curiosity-landing.jpg" alt="NASA's Mars lander Curiosity has landed safely on Mars (Image: NASA)"/> </a> <a class="rel_title" href="/web/20121101061330/http://www.gizmag.com/curiosity-mars-landing/23593/">Touchdown! 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