The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is dropped on the Jezero Crater on Mars on 18 February 2021. This mission will be the first mission that is aiming to collect Martian rocks, this will help the scientists on Earth to characterize Mars' past climate, geology, and similarities with Earth. Jezero Crater is a 45-kilometer wide ancient impact crater located in the northwest corner of a larger impact basin on Mars. An impact crater is formed when an object like an asteroid or meteorite crashes into the surface of a larger solid object like a planet or a moon. Older investigations are suggesting that Mars was once a planet that contained rivers. This suggests that there was once life on this planet, at least some microbial life have lived in this crater is assumed because the rivers were connecting to this crater and might be carrying these life forms. An older rover that was sent to Mars has revealed that the crater contains clay and carbonate minerals. These minerals are similar to the ones at Lake Salda in Turkey. They share similar geology and mineralogy. Scientists are working on analyzing Lake Salda to have an idea of what will be important to consider when analyzing the crater and overall conditions at Mars. It is not certain that they will be faced with the same results but it's a high possibility.
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Source: Mars Exploration Image Gallery, 2011 |
