Major discovery on Mars: Scientists stunned by what was found PHOTO

Researchers said the six-wheeled rover discovered geological features up to 35 meters underground across 6.1 kilometers of terrain within Jezero Crater, a region in Mars’ northern hemisphere believed to have once been flooded with water, Reuters reports.

The Perseverance rover identified layered sediments and eroded surfaces indicating the presence of a delta and large-scale fan-shaped sediment deposits formed where a river flowed into a larger body of water, such as a lake.

Tanjug/NASA/ASI/University of Maryland/Tony Farnham/Nathan Marder via AP

The buried delta is estimated to date from about 3.7 to 4.2 billion years ago.

Mars, like Earth, formed around 4.5 billion years ago, meaning this delta existed relatively early in the Red Planet’s history.

Researchers said this delta predates a similar nearby surface feature called the Western Delta, which dates from roughly 3.5 to 3.7 billion years ago.

The rover’s RIMFAX instrument sends radar pulses downward and records the echoes bouncing off underground structures, enabling three-dimensional mapping of the subsurface. The new findings are based on the deepest RIMFAX data collected to date, gathered from September 2023 to February 2024 over a period of 250 Martian days.

Since water is considered key to the potential for past life on Mars, the growing body of evidence for its past presence on the planet is of particular interest.

Tanjug/NASA/ASI/University of Maryland/Tony Farnham/Nathan Marder via AP

Mars, now cold and barren, once had a thicker atmosphere and a warmer climate, allowing liquid water to exist on its surface.

“Based on the features mapped by RIMFAX, we believe that Jezero Crater hosted an ancient water-rich environment capable of preserving a biosignature that existed before the formation of Jezero’s Western Delta,” said planetary scientist Emily Cardarelli of UCLA, a member of the Perseverance science team and lead author of the study published Wednesday in Science Advances.

A biosignature refers to chemical or physical evidence indicating past or present life.

On Earth, river deltas concentrate sediments and create niches suitable for microbial life.

Last year, scientists reported that a rock sample collected by Perseverance in Jezero Crater contains a potential biosignature pointing to ancient microbial life, although the minerals in the sample could also form through non-biological processes.

The rock dates from approximately 3.2 to 3.8 billion years ago. Perseverance has been exploring Jezero Crater since 2021.

Scientists believe that river channels overflowed the crater rim and formed a lake.