An artist's impression of what NASA's rover Spirit looks like on the surface of Mars. Click on image for full size (54K JPG) NASA

NASA’s rover, named Spirit, has successfully landed and will soon be scouting the surface of Mars for interesting geology!

Scientists are interested to know whether the depression where Spirit landed was once a lake. Currently, there does not appear to be liquid water at the surface of Mars, but this may not have always been the case. It is possible that large amounts of liquid water were once at the surface. If water was available, living things may have been present as well.

Spirit is looking at the nearby sedimentary rocks for clues to understand what the environment was like in the past. These types of clues are not just important for understanding Mars. Information from sedimentary rocks is also used to understand what past environments were like on Earth.

Take a look at some sedimentary rocks and environments from Earth to understand what type of clues Spirit is looking for in the Martian rocks!

An artist's impression of what NASA's rover Spirit looks like on the surface of Mars. Click on image for full size (54K JPG) NASA

NASA’s rover, named Spirit, has successfully landed and will soon be scouting the surface of Mars for interesting geology!

Scientists are interested to know whether the depression where Spirit landed was once a lake. Currently, there does not appear to be liquid water at the surface of Mars, but this may not have always been the case. It is possible that large amounts of liquid water were once at the surface. If water was available, living things may have been present as well.

Spirit is looking at the nearby sedimentary rocks for clues to understand what the environment was like in the past. These types of clues are not just important for understanding Mars. Information from sedimentary rocks is also used to understand what past environments were like on Earth.

Take a look at some sedimentary rocks and environments from Earth to understand what type of clues Spirit is looking for in the Martian rocks!

An artist's impression of what NASA's rover Spirit looks like on the surface of Mars. Click on image for full size (54K JPG) NASA

NASA’s rover, named Spirit, has landed on Mars and will soon be scouting the surface for interesting geology!

Scientists are interested to know whether the place where Spirit landed was once a lake. Currently, there does not appear to be liquid water at the surface of Mars, but this may not have always been the case. It is possible that large amounts of water were once at the surface. If water was available, living things may have lived there as well.

Spirit is looking at the nearby sedimentary rocks for clues to understand what the environment was like in the past. These types of clues are not just important for understanding Mars. Information from sedimentary rocks is also used to understand what past environments were like on Earth.

Take a look at some sedimentary rocks and environments from Earth to understand what type of clues Spirit is looking for in the Martian rocks!