Stones formed by Water Stream on Mars spotted by NASA’s Curiosity Rover

NASA found evidence a stream once ran vigorously across the area on Mars where the rover is driving. NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover photographed Martian stones/rocks that were formed by Mars Water Stream. All images are from Gale Crater with 100-millimeter Mast Camera on Curiosity. Scientists are studying the images of stones cemented into a layer of conglomerate rock. The sizes and shapes of stones offer clues to the speed and distance of a long-ago stream's flow. From the size of gravels scientists can interpret the water was moving about 3 feet per second. This is the first time we're actually seeing water-transported gravel on Mars. This is a transition from speculation about the size of streambed material to direct observation of it. The rounded shape of some stones in the conglomerate indicates long-distance transport from above the rim, where a channel named Peace Vallis feeds into the alluvial fan. 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.

Credit: nasa.gov, NASA/JPL-Caltech, NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Source for NASA’s article of Water Stream Stones on Mars: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120927.html

#mars #curiosity #water

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