Mars' River Delta May Be Hiding Ancient Life: Here Are The First Photos
NASA's Perseverance rover has finally arrived at Mars' river delta, and as it prepares to hunt for life there, it shared two incredible photos of the new terrain. Since it landed on Mars in February 2021, all of Perseverance's time has been spent in the Jezero Crater — a 28-mile-wide crater left by a meteorite billions of years ago. The Jezero Crater is believed to have once been habitable and had ancient rivers flowing through it, making it a prime candidate for Perseverance to hunt for life on the Red Planet.
After exploring the Jezero Crater for over a year, NASA recently embarked Perseverance on the next leg of its Martian journey. The rover began heading to Mars' river delta on March 17. Like the Jezero Crater, the river delta is believed to be a hotspot for ancient Martian life. Three miles and a month of travel later, Perseverance has finally arrived at the river delta — and it shared two incredible photos of what the area looks like.
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The first photo (see above) reveals the delta's famous 'bacon strip.' While it's not a tasty breakfast treat, it might be hiding secrets about Mars' rich history. Per the Perseverance Twitter account, «Now that I’ve made it to the delta, I’m getting a closer look at this section of light-colored rock my team’s been eyeing. Could it be mudstone from the ancient lake?» If that rock does turn out to be the remains of an old lake, sampling it could reveal what that lake contained billions of years ago — including microbial life.
In addition to the 'bacon strip' photo, NASA also shared a Perseverance shot of the river delta from a distance. The above shot consists of 64 different images showing the enormous
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