Even though Mars appears to be a quiet and frozen desert planet there is a lot going on on it that is not very obvious.
Through NASA’s InSight mission, the scientists have discovered that Mars is experiencing Marsquakes that keep the planet seismically active.
In addition to this, there is also a mystery on the planet Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL) that has received attention and curiosity from various scientists over the years. These RSLs are similar to landslides on Mars but the cause of the landslides is not known even now.
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“We see them from orbit with the dark streaks they make on the ground and they tend to always occur on solar-facing slopes, which made geologists think that they are related to early ice melting, “said Bishop, a senior research scientist at the SETI Institute in California.
It has also been observed that these usually occur in areas with very little ice. “The interesting thing is that they increase over months after dust storms and then fade away, and they seem to appear again and again in the same regions. A large number of these also form in the equatorial part of Mars, where there is little ice, “the Bishop explained.
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It has recently been observed that these landslides have not been seen or caught by rover or lander. For now, scientists are using laboratory experiments and Martian analogs on Earth to understand the origin and cause behind these mysterious landslides.
It is not just Mars that has experienced these strange events. The Earth, too, has witnessed similar events in areas such as the Atacama desert in Chile, parts of Antarctica and the Dead Sea. Scientists have found that landslides and surface collapse have occurred in these regions when salts interact with water or sulfates.
“Antarctica and the Atacama are good analogs for Mars because they are ultra dry environments,” the Bishop explained. “Antarctica has the added benefit of being extremely cold. Parts of Antarctica include the Mars-equivalent Beacon Valley for temperature and atmosphere.”