| archmage | Date: Thursday, 12-December-2013, 12:22 PM | Message # 1 |
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-- dragon lord--
Group: lords
Messages: 3003
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Scientists have discovered evidence of an ancient freshwater lake on Mars, and it is well suited to microbial life. The lake was located inside Gale Crater where a NASA Mars rover landed in August last year. Researchers say the lake likely covered an area 31 miles long and 3 miles wide, though its size varied over time. Analysis of sedimentary deposits gathered by the Curiosity rover shows the lake existed for at least tens of thousands of years, possibly longer. Clays drilled out from two rock samples in the area known as Yellowknife Bay also show the lake existed at a time when other parts of Mars were dried up or dotted with acidic pools, ill-suited for life. In contrast, the lake in Gale Crater could have supported a simple class of rock-eating microbes, which on Earth are commonly found in caves and hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. Report by Mark Morris.
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