Mars Mania: Perseverance Rover's Cool Discoveries on Mars

An image of the Jezero Crater taken by the Perseverance rover. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Perseverance rover, launched July 30, 2020, has a special mission on the surface of Mars. The rover, along with its aerial sidekick the Ingenuity helicopter, have the assignment to study the geology of Mars.  This includes seeking signs of ancient microbial life and collecting samples of rock and soil.  Part of the mission was also to demonstrate the technology of the Ingenuity helicopter.  So what has Perseverance discovered so far?

The most exciting finds have to do with the Jezero crater.  Previous orbital images of the crater discovered the crater and suggested that there used to be a lake of water there.  Perseverance has been able to get a lot more information from the surface of the planet.  For instance, on the floor of the crater, the rover discovered igneous rocks.  These suggest the possibility that the lake may have been filled with lava before it was filled with water.  When water flowed in and covered the igneous rocks, it would have created salty mudflats that would likely have been good habitats for any martian life that may have existed.  Perseverance has also found evidence that there used to be winding rivers on the surface of Mars.

All of these discoveries are important because they show us that Mars used to be very different than the planet we know today.  When the rocks that Perseverance is studying were formed, Mars was full of activity-there were volcanoes, flowing rivers, lakes, and even, possibly, life.  Today it is cold, dry, and quiet.  Perseverance may give us some clues as to what happened to change the planet so drastically!

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