NASA scientists in the United States have clarified that Mars did not lose all its water instantly. Instead, the planet experienced cycles of humidity and drought that shifted over time, according to an official update from Space Agency, the space agency’s website.
The team’s fresh conclusions come from new data collected by the Curiosity rover. The rover ventured into a region near an artifact-like channel called the Gediz Valley Canal, a winding formation that looks like a dry riverbed. This feature sits at the base of Mount Sharp, also known as Aeolis Mons, the central peak inside Gale Crater.
Curiosity captured a 360-degree black-and-white panorama with its left navigation camera, documenting the canal. The image reveals dark sand filling one side of the channel and a mound of debris nearby, while a steep hillside rises in the opposite direction that the rover had climbed to reach this site.
Analysis of the rock composition showed a layer rich in sulfates and saline minerals, commonly produced when water evaporates and leaves mineral residues behind.
The geological study of the lower part of Mount Sharp indicates alternating intervals of drought and wetness, suggesting that this region of Mars experiences recurring water return cycles rather than a single, static climate event.
Project scientist Ashwin Vasavada explained that if the channel and the debris pile are indeed formed by liquid water, it would imply a long drought followed by a significant resurgence of water activity, reshaping expectations about Mars hydrology.
Planetary scientists have long debated the duration of Mars’s wet periods. This latest evidence points to a wet period that may have been shorter than earlier estimates, underscoring the dynamic nature of the planet’s past climate.