A recently published study Science, It’s investigating how thin channels in impact craters on Mars could have formed from Martian craters, often made of cascading meltwater, which, although the Martian atmosphere cannot support liquid water on its surface, has similar properties to Earth’s craters. However, the researchers suggest that these craters may have formed on Mars during periods of great tilt, also known as axial tilt, which could cause short-term increases in surface temperatures, which could lead to a cascade by melting surface and subsurface ice. melt water. along the edges of impact craters all over the planet.

The tilt of the planet’s axis plays an important role in determining the climate. As for Earth, its axis tilt undergoes a constant rotation of 22.1 degrees to 24.5 degrees every 41,000 years due to gravitational stabilization from our Moon. As a result, our climate and seasons are relatively stable. However, the planet Mars undergoes much more violent oscillations on its axis over hundreds of thousands to millions of years, causing equally drastic changes in climate and seasons as it does not have an orbital body large enough to stabilize it. This is because although Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, both are much smaller than Earth’s moon and exert very little gravitational force on the Red Planet.

Currently, the tilt of Mars’ axis is about 25 degrees, but the researchers suggest, based on model simulations and images from orbit, that when the axis tilts 35 degrees, this will cause both atmospheric pressure and surface temperature. The planet will rise for a short time in the summer. let liquid water exist. This liquid water would then flow down the edges of the impact craters, creating the thin channels we see today, and such conditions are said to have existed around 630,000 years ago.

A professor of geological sciences at Brown University, Dr. “We know from most of our research, and from other people’s research, that early in Martian history there was running water on the surface with a network of valleys and lakes,” said Jim Head. and co-author of the study. “But about 3 billion years ago, all that liquid water disappeared, and Mars became what we call an extremely arid or arctic desert. Even after that, and in the recent past, when Mars’ axis tilted to 35 degrees Celsius, it got hot enough to melt snow and ice, liquid water We show that it pushes back until it falls and freezes again.”

The formation of impact crater valleys has been debated in the scientific community for several years, with previous research suggesting that they are the result of sublimation (evaporation) of carbon dioxide frost that releases rocks and debris that slide down from the Martian regolith. slopes of impact craters. creation of thin channels. This latest study not only questions previous hypotheses, but also attempts to paint an entirely new picture of how these impact crater channels were formed in the first place.

A former Brown researcher now at Caltech and lead author of the study, Dr. “Our study shows that the global distribution of valleys is best explained by liquid water in the last million years,” said Jay Dixon. . “Water explains the height distribution of valleys in a way that CO2 cannot. This means that Mars has been able to produce enough liquid water to erode the channels in the last million years, which is very recent in Mars’ geological history.”

As seen on earth, water in liquid form creates life. Therefore, this study reveals new hypotheses about whether life on Mars may have existed in the past or present, and the researchers point out that the tilt of Mars’ axis will eventually return to 35 degrees. In addition, the work also raises awareness of future goals for robotic or human exploration of the Red Planet. To date, 4,861 different crater formations have been detected on Mars, including craters, valleys, and mounds, making up tens of thousands of different craters that could be explored by future missions.

What new discoveries will researchers make about craters on Mars, and can liquid water be found on the surface during periods of major axial tilt? Only time will tell and that’s why we are the science!