Magnificent Desiccation
Dry, dusty formations on the surface of Mars are evidence of the planet’s watery past.
Scientists estimate water covered a significant portion of Mars early in its history. Today, dry lakebeds, deep valleys and sandy plains all point to areas where water once flowed. Such landforms are captured in images taken by the THEMIS instrument aboard NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Since its 2001 arrival, the orbiter has made more than 60,000 laps around the Red Planet, and collected more than 400,000 photos of the Martian landscape. The spacecraft’s survey has helped scientists locate features that likely formed in the presence of water, such as Ravi Vallis, a 125-mile-long channel carved by a massive flood. Identifying these environments has informed the landing sites of robotic missions and will aid future human explorers searching the planet for signs of life. Explore the images to learn more.
Sediments from an ancient lake sit at the floor of this basin imaged by NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
Flowing water at one time spilled into Mars' Holden crater (foreground), creating a large gap in the crater's southern rim (center).
Racing floodwaters are thought to have formed the 60-mile-wide channel seen in this image of terrain in Mars' northern hemisphere.
These bowl-shaped depressions are the result of water disappearing through fractures in Mars’ crust.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Images courtesy of NASA/JPL/Arizona State University/R. Luk
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Writers
- Alison Takemura (USRA)
- None None (NASA Viz Team)
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Scientist
- Shane Byrne (The University of Arizona/LPL)
Release date
This page was originally published on Tuesday, June 21, 2016.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:48 PM EDT.