The first underground radar images from the Mars rover show surprises

Mars rover perseverance Currently exploring a delta on the western edge of 48 km Wide Jezero holewhich used to be a lake. When analyzing the radar image data, the research team led University of California and the University of Oslo He made a surprising discovery.

The aquifers analyzed by perseverance are tilted using ground-penetrating radar instruments.

Lava or sediment in the lake

“We were quite surprised to find boulders stacked at a tilted angle,” So David Page of UCLA and Principal Investigator of Radar Imaging for the Mars Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX). In fact one expected to find horizontal boulders on the floor of the pit. The fact that they tend to have a more complex geological history.

The slope indicates that the rocks may have formed as a result of slow cooling of lava. According to Page, the sloping rocks may have formed precisely as the molten rock rose to the surface. Alternatively, it could also have been deposited as sediments in the previous lake.

subsurface radar waves

The rover’s ground-penetrating radars can map the arrangement of rock layers in the ground up to 15 meters deep. The latest data shows rock layers up to 15 degrees Lean – some even in several directions.

The devices send radar waves below the surface, which are reflected by layers of rock and other objects. Depending on their shapes, density, angles, or textures, radar waves bounce back, creating an image of the underlying soil. study was in the advancement of science chest.