Why was the Curiosity rover sent to Gale crater? To search for signs of life on
ID: 117738 • Letter: W
Question
Why was the Curiosity rover sent to Gale crater?
To search for signs of life on ancient Mars
To determine whether or not water actually existed on ancient Mars
To search for habitable environments in the ancient lake deposits that were identified from orbit
To determine whether or not the clays and salts identified from orbit indicated ancient habitable environments
To search for signs of life on ancient Mars
To determine whether or not water actually existed on ancient Mars
To search for habitable environments in the ancient lake deposits that were identified from orbit
To determine whether or not the clays and salts identified from orbit indicated ancient habitable environments
Explanation / Answer
The explosion ejected rocks and soil that landed around the crater. Scientists chose Gale Crater as the landing site for Curiosity because it has many signs that water was present over its history. Water is a key ingredient of life as we know it. Gale Crater is a fascinating place to explore because of the mountain of layered materials in the middle. The controllers of NASA's Curiosity rover have waited patiently—and perhaps for too long—to launch a key experiment. Tucked in the rover's belly are nine stainless steel thimbles, each filled with solvent, that are the mission's best shot for detecting signs of ancient martian life. Now, well into its fifth year on Mars, the rover has reached a mountain thought to be a promising hunting ground. Almost all water on Mars today exists as ice, though it also exists in small quantities as vapor in the atmosphere. The only place where water ice is visible at the surface is at the north polar ice cap.
The climate of Mars has been more similar to that of Earth than has the climate of any other planet in our Solar System. But Mars still provides a valuable alternative example of how planetary processes and environments can affect the potential presence of life elsewhere. For example, although Mars also differentiated very early into a core, mantle and crust, it then evolved mostly if not completely without plate tectonics and has lost most of its early atmosphere. Clay minerals, recently discovered to be widespread in Mars’s Noachian terrains, indicate long-duration interaction between water and rock over 3.7 billion years ago. Analysis of how they formed should indicate what environmental conditions prevailed on early Mars. If clays formed near the surface by weathering, as is common on Earth, their presence would indicate past surface conditions warmer and wetter than at present.Related Questions
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