Friday, September 02, 2011

Giant Mars crater hints at steamy past


Modern Mars may be a frozen wasteland, but it has a hot and steamy past. NASA's Opportunity rover has started examining its most significant target yet, Mars's giant Endeavour crater. The initial results suggest the structure was once exposed to hot water.

Opportunity drove for three years before reaching the 22-kilometre-wide crater. Its rim exposes rocks from the earliest epoch of Martian history, when liquid water was abundant.

"We're looking at this phase of Opportunity's exploration as a whole new mission," says David Lavery of NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. To read more, click here.

Related articles:
Mars rover explores vast crater
Mars Rover Find Suggests Conditions Hospitable to Life
Mars Rover Discovery Elates NASA

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