2023-05-21 23:54:18
NASA chose this 45-kilometre-diameter topographic depression because it is thought to have once been covered by water, as well as having harbored an ancient river delta, which could reveal evidence of the red planet’s wet past. Jezero crater is located on the western edge of the Isidis Planitia plain, north of the equator of Mars.
On the other hand, the Belva crater, which measures 0.9 kilometers wide, originated from the impact of a meteorite billions of years ago. In its interior there are multiple locations of exposed bedrock, as well as a region where the sedimentary layers are sharply inclined downwards.
According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The panorama was formed from 152 photographs captured on April 22, during the 772nd day on Mars of the Perseverance mission, by the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard the rover. He also explained that at the time the images were taken, the Perseverance was positioned to the west of the edge of the Belva crater, specifically in a rocky outcrop of light tones identified as ‘Echo Creek’.
The researchers suggested that the large boulders in the foreground may be chunks of bedrock that were exposed by a meteorite impact, or that they were transported into the crater by a river system.. In addition, they assured that they will continue to compare the characteristics of the bedrock with the rock layers on the distant walls of the crater.
“Mars rover missions typically end up exploring bedrock at small, flat exposures in the rover’s immediate workspace,” said Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Katie Stack, who noted that this fact motivated her team. to “obtain images and study Belva”. “Impact craters can offer great views and vertical slices that provide important clues to the origin of these rocks with a perspective and scale that we don’t often experience,” she noted.
NASA shared new images Thursday that reveal possible geological evidence that a deep, fast-flowing river emptied into an ancient Martian lake, located in Jezero crater. (RT)
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