The Curiosity Rover which landed on Mars August 6 has come found evidence of an ancient stream on Mars. The rover came across stones in conglomerate rock which means that water had flown there in the past.
John Grotzinger, lead scientist on the mission said at a press conference on Thursday, "this is a rock that was formed in the presence of water. We can characterize that water as being a vigorous flow."
The Curiosity has come across rocks that appear to have underwent a sediment transport process which either occurred by water or by wind. However the gravel appears to be too large to be transported by wind meaning its most probably from a stream.
Curiosity science co-investigator from the University of California, Berkeley William Dietrich said to CNN that the water flowing in the rock formations was probably between ankle and hip deep.
"Scientists believe the water and sediment flowed down the crater into an alluvial fan -- a geological formation created by material that water transports. At least intermittently, this fan appears to have extended down to the area where the rover landed.
It's hard to say how long ago this water flowed -- an estimate would be "thousands to millions of years," Dietrich said.
Dietrich noted that this is the first direct observation of streambed material. The rock outcrop was named "Hottah" after Canada's Hottah Lake.
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