matecurkovicScientists using NASA’s Curiosity rover have found the first clear evidence of an ancient Martian sandstorm in Gale Crater, dating back over 3.5 billion years.
The unique ripple formations reveal that Mars once had a much denser atmosphere capable of powerful, short-lived storms.
This discovery offers new insight into the Red Planet’s past environment and potential habitability.
#Mars #Astronomy #SpaceScience #CuriosityRover #Geology https://phys.org/news/2026-04-serendipitous-discovery-martian-ripple-reveals.html
The unique ripple formations reveal that Mars once had a much denser atmosphere capable of powerful, short-lived storms.
This discovery offers new insight into the Red Planet’s past environment and potential habitability.
#Mars #Astronomy #SpaceScience #CuriosityRover #Geology https://phys.org/news/2026-04-serendipitous-discovery-martian-ripple-reveals.html
'Serendipitous' discovery of Martian ripple marks reveals an ancient sandstorm
The search for life on Mars involves the efforts of scientists from many different disciplines. An important aspect of that search is to study Martian sedimentary rocks for information about the planet's environment when it is likely that the surface environment hosted abundant water and therefore more habitable, around three to four billion years ago. Now, research published in the journal Geology shows evidence of an intense sandstorm that swept through Mars's Gale crater over three billion years ago.