NASA's Curiosity Rover Shows More Good News; Mars May Have 'Mud Cracks' Due to Water

NASA may have retrieved new and vital information from the year-long cruise of its rover, Curiosity. After the recent discoveries throughout 2016, it seems as if there is something that man may have missed from long ago.

The Curiosity rover took time last 2016 discovering the possibilities within the red planet, one of them being what seemed to be veins from evaporated lakes. The presumption goes as far as suggesting that Mars used to have oxygen, and 2017 started with examining a new natural formation, comprised of rocks with cross-cut ridges-said to be mud cracks.

According to the official NASA page, the mud cracks, if proven correct, will be the first of their kind proven correct by the rover. It is said that these marks were formed over 3 billion years ago, covered by multiple layers of sediment that turned into stratified rock. The presence of wind erosion showed the separated pieces, found in a location known as the "Old Soaker" on the lower Mount Sharp area.

The intrigue does not end there, as more evidence from the site shows a pattern known as cross-bedding, which is said to have been formed around points with water flow. However, there are some theories that say it could have simply been made out of wind blows even in drought.

Curiosity science team member Nathan Stein explained what he thought about the formations. "Even from a distance, we could see a pattern of four- and five-sided polygons that don't look like fractures we've seen previously with Curiosity," Stein said. "It looks like what you'd see beside the road where muddy ground has dried and cracked."

A Twitter post justified the team's recent milestone. Curiosity continues to research on the planet for further proof of the possibility that the planet is, indeed, habitable.