There is a fascinating thing NASA uses called a Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which launched in 2005. It’s primary mission is to search for evidence on water on the planet. Per NASA’s mission overview, “While other Mars missions have shown that water flowed across the surface in Mars’ history, it remains a mystery whether water was ever around long enough to provide a habitat for life. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will study the history of water on Mars.”

The MRO is also surveying small scale features, many in 3D. It’s tracked sand dunes, weather progressions, craters and, as of yesterday, flood channels that had been buried by lava flows. Check it out below: it’s a little heady, but still cool.

Why is it important to know about and take photos of flood channels on mars? Well for one thing, if Mars supports, or has supported water, then it could support, or have supported, life.

From NASA’s press release on the findings:

“The spacecraft took numerous images during the past few years that
showed channels attributed to catastrophic flooding in the last 500
million years. Mars during this period had been considered cold and
dry. These channels are essential to understanding the extent to
which recent hydrologic activity prevailed during such arid
conditions. They also help scientists determine whether the floods
could have induced episodes of climate change.”
…

“Our findings show the scale of erosion that created the channels
previously was underestimated and the channel depth was at least
twice that of previous approximations,” said Gareth Morgan, a
geologist at the National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and
Planetary Studies in Washington and lead author on the paper. “This
work demonstrates the importance of orbital sounding radar in
understanding how water has shaped the surface of Mars.”

Here’s their imaging: