Did rivers once run on the Red Planet?
By Ron Cowen
A fan-shaped region of debris on Mars is providing new evidence that the planet, now bone-dry, once had persistent rivers or lakes. Images from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft show what appear to be ancient sedimentary deposits that have hardened into curved ridges of layered rock.
Some of the features in the region could have formed when ancient rivers meandered for vast stretches of time, says Michael C. Malin of Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego. Malin’s team built and operates Surveyor’s camera.