Closing in on an ancient Mars river channel

Episode 162
Perseverance is a few billion years too late, but from its current location it would’ve seen a wide, sometimes raging river flowing below. If all goes well, it will soon discover what lies on the floor of this ancient river channel.

[@slowerpicker]

Thanks!

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks much for supporting this channel! It's really encouraging feedback.

[@DrJones20]

You treat your audience like adults. No hyped up hollywood music, dramatic voice over and lengthy introductions, just straight to the point facts in a totally normal voice. I hope this format will become a trend in the future, space doesn't need over-damatization, it's awe inspiring enough s it is.

[@Randy.Bobandy]

I agree. Just hearing about these things that could have happened millions or billions of years ago is breathtaking.

[@yagwaw]

So true!

[@nickush7512]

Bulls Eye Dude.... Great comment, thanks. And thanks Mars Guy.

[@datsmay]

Best comment on YT so far.

[@jamesrussell7760]

I definitely agree. Very refreshing not having too-loud background music, AI voice over and too-long, repetitious explanation -- click bait all!

[@randalllewis4485]

Thanks for adding the water effect to help us visualize your information. This kind of effect (along with Mars Guy, the stadium, the hammer, and the pocketknife) are very much appreciated.

[@Ron4885]

Yes, I agree. Those visuals, including Mars Guy, are very helpful. (and fun to see). 😊

[@MarsGuy]

So glad you appreciate this approach. Thanks for the feedback.

[@apriladams7119]

Thank you, Mars Guy. Sunday mornings have become my favorite time of the week thanks to your great videos. I never fail to learn from them.

[@MarsGuy]

So glad to provide a bit of enjoyment and information on your Sunday.

[@bazpearce9993]

Take me to the river. Drop me in the........ sand?

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, yeah, at this point that's right!

[@robincapstick9662]

Many thanks for your excellent channel.

[@MarsGuy]

Many thanks for watching it!

[@rjung_ch]

Wishing Perseverance clear skies and the least amount of sand storms out there. Good news once again from my favorite channel that's all about Mars. Thanks Mars Guy for giving us so much insight on what's happening on our neighbor planet. Cheers 👍💪✌

[@MarsGuy]

Happy to have such appreciative viewers!

[@rickc4317]

Great episode this morning, Mars Guy. Thanks again!

[@MarsGuy]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dave8181]

The mast cam photos are getting very interesting with this new vantage point.

[@MarsGuy]

Indeed!

[@JohnVance]

The short animation of what it might have looked like millions of years ago was really cool!

[@dment0077]

Yes, the aerial view animation is great! And maybe it could be improved, if terrain elevations were more clearly depicted...

[@Jarooosa]

Nice Al Green/Talking Heads finish to that video. 😀

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for noticing!

[@nigellaubsch4499]

Awesome - as always!!

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks!

[@jackieking1522]

Thanks as usual. Now for my wee night walk on some sedimentary uplift of old Gondwana.

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, enjoy! And thanks as usual.

[@David-yo5ws]

That scenery is so varied, that I just love the textures and subtle colours that the camera delivers right to my computer screen. And I am glad I have a 31 inch curved screen with which to add to that experience. It's not an expensive one but if you really want to add value to Mars pictures and rocket launch's, save up for one. And as someone already commented, the elevated views are very interesting. It's like climbing a high hill or range and rewarding your eyes with the view from the top, after all your effort. Thanks Mars Guy.

[@MarsGuy]

Glad you're getting the full effect and appreciating the details. Thanks for the comment.

[@nicksavage4763]

EVERY REPORT APPRECIATED 🎉

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, glad you do!

[@charleslord2433]

🎶we go down to the river...🎶

[@user-zj2qp3lr3m]

Thanks MG it’s great to see that we are heading towards the river. Looking forward to arriving somewhere.

[@MarsGuy]

Yep, looking forward to new discoveries.

[@johnmerrett5186]

Informative as always, thx MG. JPM 👍🚀🇬🇧😎

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks as always!

[@marklocke5678]

i want to dig for gemstones there

[@vasari9198]

“How tall do you want your wall?” “A Dr Ruff and a half.” “What?” “1.5 Mars Guys.” “You should have just said that.”

[@MarsGuy]

Ha ha!

[@Firebuck]

There's something magical about a dry river channel so familiar it would look right at home in parts of the southwest US... with meteorite craters around (and in!) it.

[@MarsGuy]

Agreed!

[@minu42yu]

Another great video! Science communication at its best! I can safely hit the like button first and then watch the new episode. The number of subscribers grows very slowly, but surely. It seems to me that these 30K+ people really love what you are doing!

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for the encouraging comment! Much appreciated.

[@rursus8354]

For a nerd like me, this is very fascinating. THX 10^6!

[@MarsGuy]

Much appreciated!

[@davelcx1958]

Another fascinating deep dive into Mars geology. Thanks MG for posting 👍👍👍

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks again, glad you liked it.

[@patrowan7206]

Just spectacular! That looks like the most obvious ancient river bed I've ever seen on Mars, surpassing the one Curiosity found in Gale Crater.

[@nickdiamond7595]

Thank you for putting reference images for scale like the football stadium and you.

[@MarsGuy]

Glad you appreciate this approach. Thanks for the feedback.

[@garyknight8616]

Brilliant. Great update 👍

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks again!

[@Sheaker]

Thank You Mars Guy for this great update!

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks as always for watching.

[@yrguitar1]

Always great. Thanks for the update

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for watching.

[@annakeye]

I haven't read the other comments yet so this may have been touched on by others; i.e. starting at 0:49 by the Perseverence marker and then even more clearly 1:56 in Jezero Crater, the effects of water or some water like liquid is very clear by the rippling formation of silt and sand like deposits that we see here on Earth. We see it in dried up mud puddles, rock pools and anywhere that water has been moving enough to bring fine particulates and dried out to leave them exposed so low that wind is unlikely to readily disturb them . Thanks for another great update, *Mars Guy*

[@MarsGuy]

It's possible that the last flows through the channel were more like debris flows.

[@johncnorris]

Pretty amazing.

[@relwalretep]

Eternal thanks, mate

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks eternally!

[@gregchapek969]

I was just in Utah last week hiking, the Martian terrain is very directly comparable to many places I visited. Thanks MG!

[@MarsGuy]

Looking for Mars on Earth, nice!

[@steampunkstar_raisin]

Good stuff...

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks!

[@scottthomas6202]

The easily recognized " for scale" items really add to your videos. The mental image I have for this video is a couple classic little green men Martians fishing off a homemade raft on a slow moving river...

[@MarsGuy]

Glad you appreciate this approach. Thanks for the feedback (and the image!).

[@patirving705]

Always the best descriptions of what the rover is seeing. I am so glad you have continued your videos!!! Now can you just find us a way to get those dang sample tubes back to Earth? Seriously so frustrated with that situation!

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for your encouraging words. And yes, sample return is in trouble. Concerning.

[@nigelhungerford-symes5059]

Thanks for the update

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for watching.

[@drguenther]

I thought, Perseverance's long time road would be south and up a ramp to the crater rim. Going down the slope to the valley ground seems very dangerous. Or did the NASA teams decide, that those sediments on the river floor are worth enough to take that risk? (If only Ingenuity would have done one or two more flights to answer this question). And another seldom told fact about the ancient rivers. Mars pressure (about 10 hPa) is near the triple point of Water. I really like the idea of an ancient "boiling" crater lake with icebergs floating in it !!! Again, a well done video!

[@drguenther]

OK, I've learned, they really plan to go down in the valley before turning south since the beginning of the mission.. :-)

[@MarsGuy]

Yeah, there's been interest in this for a while. And the atmosphere must've been thicker when the lake was present.

[@bennyandersen742]

Thanks, good stuff 😊

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks for watching.

[@TropicalCoder]

That will be interesting. I think that river bed was one of the primary reasons for going to Jezero Crater

[@jimparsons6803]

Staying tuned. Liked that both of these Rovers have found visual evidence of possible Mars stromatolites. If it is possible, and if it hasn't happened yet, maybe get some physical samples of viewed possible stromatolites to get back to Earth, please?

[@AerialWaviator]

Another thought inspiring episode. The overhead vantage point of (1:15) makes me wonder if the flow was more a mix of mud/sand than what we commonly think of as a mostly water stream. ie: the material for sand dunes in the crater and the river valley likely were present when water was also present, and must have played an influence on any flows.

[@MarsGuy]

One scenario is that the final flows were more like debris flows than flowing water.

[@FredPlanatia]

Take me down to the river ... down to the river... down to the river

[@Rmm1722]

Wow 😯

[@zukjeff]

was the river there before the crater was formed or did the water find and then leave the crater after it was formed ?

[@GeistView]

Looks a lot like the rock formations at Shore Acres State Park, Oregon. All the way down to the sloping and the weathering of round boulders out of the surrounding mudstone and sandstone.

[@cosmos_voyager]

Hello Mars Guy. I just found your channel and have already subscribed. Congratulations on your work. I have a channel in Spanish and I would like to translate some of your videos and publish them on my channel. Would you give me permission?

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks, welcome aboard! Please see the Creative Commons Attribution license link in the description of the video.

[@cosmos_voyager]

Ok, thank you very much.

[@NorthernChev]

Can you image if we found a body with actual FLOWING liquids on it's surface! What an amazing spectacle that would be. I only wish we had the ability to view sustained LIVE, above-ground views of active methane flows on Titan.

[@blp1991]

Any theories about the methane detection in the vicinity of the rover?

[@in_10z]

To be on Mars a couple billion years ago must've been mind blowing. Man I hope we discover something worthy of real proof of life. We're so close yet so far. Are there any updates on the sample return funding situation?

[@MarsGuy]

No updates yet. Teams with winning proposals will be alerted in June/July.

[@jamesrussell7760]

Exciting times ahead, Mars Guy. Once Persey reaches that ancient river channel, she (yes, when I speak of a vehicle of exploration, I always use the feminine gender) may find clear evidence of ancient life on Mars. But that presupposes a sample-return mission -- a mission currently in limbo.

[@MarsGuy]

Exciting indeed, but a very long shot for finding evidence of ancient life.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

Radioisotope sampling would be interesting.

[@middleagedwhitebloke]

👍🏻. Thank you Mars Guy.

[@MarsGuy]

You're welcome!

[@stu_boy]

Love your videos Mars Guy, so interesting. I always have wondered, if there is any particular reason why you focus solely on Perseverance and not Curiosity?

[@MarsGuy]

Thanks. The geology of the Jezero site is more relevant to my own research.

[@stu_boy]

@@MarsGuy thanks for the answer, makes sense!

[@HansMilling]

Could the low gravity, thin atmosphere and low winds, create the same kind of sediment layers, just over longer time? So it looks like water sediments, but they were created by something else than water? The initial zoom, reminds me of deployment I the game Helldivers 2. Anyway long time follower and my number 1 source of the ongoing rover mission on Mars.

[@MarsGuy]

Glad to have you watching. The boulders and sloping layers are inconsistent with wind-blown deposits.

[@jojococoa]

Does perserverence use lidar? Or is that only in EDL?

[@MarsGuy]

No lidar on Perseverance.

[@kargi42]

I wonder if Mars was mostly red when rivers flowed over it?

[@MarsGuy]

Good question!

[@davidguy209]

does Perseverance have a set destination, or just a set course?

[@AerialWaviator]

The destination for Perseverance was Jezero Crater. Since it arrived, the mission is more an exploratory walkabout to study rocks and landscape in the Jezero Crater region to reveal history of the landscape. Collecting samples (rock cores) is a primary goal, that will one day be sent to Earth for in-depth study. Where Perseverance eventually ends up is still unknown. The path there will be influence by what if discovers along the way. Eventually Perseverance will need a location suitable to transfer the samples collected to a launch vehicle. (ie: a safe meetup are that a rocket can land) Should Perseverance get stuck, or breakdown any plans to return the valuable samples would need to be rethought, as that likely could become its final destination.

[@steiner554]

We need to get there with big equipment to drill down to see what lies beneath and deeper than what we can explore this way.

[@mjproebstle]

Did we also find a van there?

[@tednordquist5266]

Mars Guy living in a rover down by the river.

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, I wondered if anyone would come up with that!

[@MrGaborseres]

👍

[@douginorlando6260]

I hope they can estimate how many cubic feet per second of fresh water flowed at its maximum. It had to be fresh water after a million years of rain wash away the percolates and salts. That will allow an estimate of Mars climate including air pressure and temperature.

[@chmeee9562]

“In a van, down by the river!” Next episode use a van instead of Mars Guy , for scale. 😃

[@MarsGuy]

Ha ha! That phrase was going through my head all week.

[@Jack-ne8vm]

I wonder what the chemical composition of the "water" was..

[@Valery0p5]

Is it even possible for perseverance to cross the sandy riverbed?

[@RichardEricCollins]

Does this show that any volcanic activity ended a very long time ago. Maybe early in it's life considering lakes formed from cateres.

[@MarsGuy]

Not necessarily.

[@justyce_yt]

Too bad we didn't find any Prothean ruins on Mars. That would've been cool. (I've been playing too much Mass Effect)

[@Miparwo]

0:09 3:08 That drawing is wrong. You are not seeing a river, but a river valley, so it was never full from "coast to coast". The river was meandering inside that valley. If it were possible to excavate the sand filling the valley today, you will see the real river, much smaller, that it's buried below the sand.

[@W1se0ldg33zer]

Certainly could have been water but also could it be mud flows from a volcano? They say there's a lot of mud volcanos on Mars.

[@garbagestarkaloyan]

On Earth it would find a lot of plastic bottles in the river

[@-mike-8134]

Adding a comment...

[@matthewgates4130]

The planets are spinning away from the Sun... The Earth will be like this in a couple of billion years. How hard is this to figure out?

[@pixelchi]

Did I spot Mars Guy living in a van down by the river?

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, I wondered if anyone would come up with this!

[@pixelchi]

@@MarsGuy You and John Candy would have been great Martian neighbors.🏜

[@Indygo9]

ok so 2 billion years ago? When do you think Mars was last habitable? How many years ago? I want to date what I found in Gale crater, rather what curiosity rover found in sol 1065 .

[@Tjalve70]

It's not a given that Mars has ever been habitable.

[@bazpearce9993]

@@Tjalve70 There's more evidence saying so than not.

[@Tjalve70]

@@bazpearce9993 There has been water. That doesn't mean it is habitable. It is an indication that it COULD have been habitable, but it's not evidence that it actually has been. IIRC, life has started on Earth not just once, but twice. If that is true, that strongly indicates that if a planet is habitable, then life WILL develop there. If we can't find evidence that life HAS existed on Mars, we can assume that Mars has never really been habitable.

[@bazpearce9993]

@@Tjalve70 That's what habitable means. It means life could be sustained there, not life has been found. Mars was wet, warm, with a thick atmosphere and organic compounds present. Sounds habitable to me. Since we've never even been underground on Mars yet your claims don't make sense. Life could well be present where the water is liquid and stable. There's strong evidence of that. Also, where do you get this idea of life starting twice here? There's no evidence of that either.

[@Tjalve70]

@@bazpearce9993 Just because it sounds habitable to you, doesn't mean it was habitable. We simply do not know for sure.

[@user-bf7xu3pz5h]

It ain't Sunday unless Mars Guy is teaching us about the red planet!! Thus saith Prester Bob

[@MarsGuy]

Ha, thanks for testifying!

[@czarcastic1458]

HAHA PFFT

[@Skandalos]

I find these explanations not compelling. We know way too little. How could Mars have possibly been warm enough to sustain liquid water in the past when the sun was even colder than today?

[@MarsGuy]

With one to two bars of greenhouse gases

[@Skandalos]

@@MarsGuy 95% CO2 can hardly be improved in this regard, or can it? Is there any evidence that Mars has had a thicker atmosphere in the past?

[@MarsGuy]

@@Skandalos 95% of a

[@Hotst0ve]

That’s a joke

[@roberttelarket4934]

Stop speculating that was a river of water, lava, etc. All the talk is just that. We will never know for certain!

[@johnhead1643]

And what are your qualifications for stating that?

[@roberttelarket4934]

@@johnhead1643: Decades of experience! Only fools believe there are answers to these types of questions!

[@roberttelarket4934]

@@johnhead1643: Stop deleting my response!

[@ericfielding2540]

Samples taken from deposits in the middle of the river valley will be a way to determine whether they were deposited by liquid water. The question is whether they would need to be returned to Earth to be certain they were deposited by water.

[@tbird81]

What's your theory?