Symmetrical wave ripples identified with NASA’s Curiosity rover in ancient lake deposits at Gale crater provide a key paleoclimate constraint for early Mars: At the time of ripple formation, climate […]
![Along the Curiosity traverse [(A), gray line] through the Mirador formation, the rover observed symmetric ripple marks within the Prow outcrop near the base of Mirador butte at elevation −3950 m (B) and the Amapari Marker Band (AMB) outcrop along the west side of Marker Band Valley (MBV) at elevation −3860 m (C). Red stars indicate the locations of the ripple-containing outcrops within the stratigraphic column (D) along the MSL traverse (A). The Prow is one of the multiple lenticular outcrops within the Contigo member. The AMB outcrops are nearly continuously around MBV [(C): solid orange line], often forming flat, erosionally resistant benches (inner edge traced in dashed orange line). The basemap used in (A) to (C) is a Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE mosaic generated by Calef et al. (61, 62) and accessed through the NASA Planetary Data System. -- Science Advances via PubMed](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Wave-Ripples-Formed-In-Ancient.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Symmetrical wave ripples identified with NASA’s Curiosity rover in ancient lake deposits at Gale crater provide a key paleoclimate constraint for early Mars: At the time of ripple formation, climate […]