The US space agency NASA has claimed to find signs of megafloods million miles away from Earth. The agency said that it has found floods of unimaginable magnitude on Mars. The latest discovery was made using data transmitted by Curiosity. Curiosity is a Mars rover designed by NASA. It was launched in 2011. NASA said that scientists have detected signs of floods once washed through Gale crater. The floods occurred at least four billion years ago. Signs about floods on the Red Planet are significant in the search for life on the planet. It hints that the planet had once favorable conditions to habitat life.
The NASA study said that the megaflood on Mars was touched off by the heat created due to a meteoritic impact. The impact was so intense that it unleashed ice stored. It caused gigantic ripples. This is the first time when scientists have made such a discovery. Scientists said that signs of megafloods were observed using sedimentological data by Curiosity. The most likely reason behind flooding on Mars was the melting of ice. Ice was melted from the heat that was generated by the meteoritic impact. This released carbon dioxide and methane from ice, triggering floods. Notably, deposits left behind due to the megafloods were never been previously identified.
The Curiosity team had previously mentioned that the Gale crater once had persistent lakes. These long-lived water bodies were indicators that the planet was capable of supporting microbial life. Recently, the MAVEN spacecraft team said that the planet lost water equivalent to an ocean of water four billion years ago. The Red Planet even today is losing water in the form of vapor. The team said that water is evaporated after sublimating from the frozen polar caps. This occurs mostly during the summer. The primary reason is warm temperature and strong winds accompanied by dust storms. This easily breaks water constituents, causing a loss. NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft is orbiting Mars for the last six years.
