Mars orbiter make stunning discovery containing secrets of planet's past

A Mars orbiter has captured images of a crater which offers insight into billions of years of history on the Red Planet.

And, crucially, it could provide key information about ancient environments on Mars, and their suitability for hosting life.

The picture was taken on the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express orbiter using the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) in October last year [via Space.com].

The massive crater measures 120 kilometers wide and initially appeared 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago following a collision, with comets and asteroids hitting the Red Planet in huge numbers.

The presence of clay minerals in the crater shows that the area was also shaped by lava flows and water erosion. The crater also expanded over the years due to freeze-thaw cycles.

ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

ESA officials said in the statement: "The linear grooves indicate where boulders frozen into the base of a glacier were dragged along, gouging out the troughs visible today. Around the base of the crater's inner walls, we can see the smooth, tongue-shaped ends of rock-covered glaciers. These 'debris aprons' formed when ice mixed together with rocky debris along the crater walls during a period of glaciation, and slowly crept downslope."

"This feature-rich crater has all the ingredients for exploring Mars' varied geological processes, giving us a tantalizing taste of its complex history," ESA officials said in the statement.

Of course, the search for indicators of potential life on Mars continues in earnest. Earlier this year, new evidence of rippling water on Mars was uncovered that could change our understanding of the planet's history.

Planetary astronomers and geologists studying Mars have known for decades that water was once present on the planet. The Red Planet is now known as a dusty and cold world, but billions of years ago water flowed on the planet’s surface.

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