Ancient Sea Bed - Mars.

With each Sol passing on Mars - our little robotic Captain James Cook seems to be "un-earthing" (or perhaps un-mars-ing) and discovering some fantastic geological wonders, whilst they are "out of this world" all of the images being sent back also feel so familiar.

Its really hard to be amazed simply by the photos because they seem so Earth like, but when you think that these images are being sent, at times, over 140 million miles back to Earth, this really puts the truly amazing and vast significance of what we are doing as humans into perspective. (You would have to travel round the Earth 5,622 times before you were anywhere near the same distance).

Its simply incredible, just take a moment to visualize in your head that right now, this second, Curiosity is pushing its way through desert sand and being blasted by an alien wind, play those images in motion in your head as its happening because the static/still photos do not do this project any justice at all.




Ok now thats out of the way.....my really reason to opening this thread was to ask "Is Curiosity currently trawling through an ancient Sea Bed?"

mars.jpl.nasa.gov...

It looks so much like cracks that occurs when there is a severe drought. I dont think it has been confirmed as such however it stands to reason that if our little friend is currently on an Ancient Sea Bed this is possibly one of the best places to search for chemistry in the dirt that could show evidence of previous life - it is also probably the most likeliest place to find fossils of past life.

What other reasons could there be for the dramatic change in geology, from loose sandy ridges to clear cracks in the foundation?? Any geologists on here?

Best regards.

When I see the shapes of the rocks that lay about in the Curiosity images, I immediately think of rocks that have been shaped by running water. I don't know much about rocks or anything of that matter but could the same effect be caused by wind erosion?

I like to believe that there is or has in sometime been water on the surface of Mars.

It blows my mind when I think about how far these images have come. From Mars all the way to my laptop screen im my front room. Madness.

How about a 24/7 webcam NASA?

i Like your thinking .. That never occurred to me .. Although, i would not be surprised to know beyond doubt there were oceans on mars ... so makes sense from my very limited knowledge, that where it landed, could well once have been underwater ...

Interesting concept ..

reply to post by youwillneverknow



Curiosity rover is on an ancient riverbed
www.guardian.co.uk...

A shallow river once coursed through a great crater on Mars according to the latest images from the surface that suggest the dusty planet was a more hospitable world in ancient times. Photographs from Nasa's Curiosity rover revealed clear signs of an ancient waterway winding from the northern edge of the Gale crater towards the base of Mount Sharp, a mountain that rises 3.1 miles (5km) from the crater floor

Exiting stuff

reply to post by youwillneverknow


Interesting thought. Possibly pillow lavas? (there are various forms). I also think of running water when looking at those but sadly it isn't necessarily so - there are places on Earth with all sorts of interesting geology going on, so the possibility that this also occurs elsewhere in the Universe is very strong.

Again though, i have to say, that does look like a sea bed (or lake bed).

Originally posted by gortex
reply to post by youwillneverknow

 

Curiosity rover is on an ancient riverbed
www.guardian.co.uk...

A shallow river once coursed through a great crater on Mars according to the latest images from the surface that suggest the dusty planet was a more hospitable world in ancient times. Photographs from Nasa's Curiosity rover revealed clear signs of an ancient waterway winding from the northern edge of the Gale crater towards the base of Mount Sharp, a mountain that rises 3.1 miles (5km) from the crater floor

Exiting stuff

edit on 10-12-2012 by gortex because: (no reason given)

Ahhhh so confirmation - excellent post.

reply to post by youwillneverknow


So many puns , Our perspective of an ancient sea bed would be different but still similar to what would appear on Mars, Mars has a thin but still sustainable atmosphere with an average temp of around −55 °C (−67 °F) therefore i remain undecided.

S+F

Here is an ancient Sea on mars , or rather how it would look if there were water stil in it

New results from the MARSIS radar on Mars Express give strong evidence for a former ocean of Mars. The radar detected sediments reminiscent of an ocean floor inside previously identified, ancient shorelines on the red planet. The ocean would have covered the northern plains billions of years ago
www.space.com...

reply to post by youwillneverknow

"It looks so much like cracks that occurs when there is a severe drought. I dont think it has been confirmed as such however it stands to reason that if our little friend is currently on an Ancient Sea Bed this is possibly one of the best places to search for chemistry in the dirt that could show evidence of previous life - it is also probably the most likeliest place to find fossils of past life."

Good observation. To me it has an appearance of a multiple cycles of water followed by evaporation and cracking of the surface; I have some experience in geology and cartography; but I am open to alternate analysis.

reply to post by youwillneverknow

As Gortex pointed out, Curiosity has already found signs of an ancient river bed. However, NASA thinks that ALL of Gale Crater once held a large body of water -- a lake or a sea. That riverbed could be a later feature, after Mars began losing its water.

NASA picked Gale Crater and Mount Sharp (which is in the crater) as the landing site for Curiosity because orbital analysis of the soils in Gale Crater showed an abundance of clays, which only form in watery environments. They also saw cemented sediments, which are also formed by water.

The going theory is that Gale Crater was there first, then the crater was completely covered with water. That water helped lay down sediments that filled the crater. After Mars lost its water, wind and sand erosion stripped away much of those sedimentary layers, once again exposing the crater, and leaving Mount Sharp behind -- a mountain that may be the remnants of all of that sediment. NASA is hoping that the exposed rock strata at the sides of Mount Sharp will tell details of the geological history of that part of Mars.

So amazing to even think about. Thank you for sharing. Can't wait to see what else is found.

What do you make of the following images that I have uploaded here.

Martian Riverbed