The evidence that Mars once had water is virtually undisputed. What is unknown is whether the water existed long enough for life to develop. As soon as Pathfinder opened its stereoscopic eyes and relayed the view to Earth, scientists saw the remnants of flooding. They point to the rolling outlines of ridges and valleys, the symmetrical slants of boulders, the curved edges of rocks, the short lineup of pebbles caught in a stream, and as Mars dried, the lightly stained patches of its final puddles. The next step is to determine what Mars' atmosphere was like at the time and whether it existed in stabilized harmony with water on the planet's surface.
Tilted rocks indicate water once rushed through the area around Pathfinder.
The secrets of rocks Rocks are so liberally scattered upon the surface of Mars that the planet would be indistinguishable without them, like a face without nose, eyes, lips and chin. In this world, it is the rock NOT covered in dust, the boulder with a texture of barnacles and the stones shaped differently than those in the rest of the neighborhood that beg closer scrutiny. The Pathfinder's rover, Sojourner, is dispatched to these samples for chemical analysis and close-up photos. Learning what Martian rocks are made of and theorizing the stories of their births will help scientists characterize the planet's early environment. There are rocks there from the beginning of the solar system to yesterday.