Perseverance reveals a Martian past between fire and water

It is no coincidence that the Jezero crater was chosen by NASA to land its Perseverance rover there in February 2021, following seven months of travel. Scientists suspected that this site once hosted a lake, and therefore liquid water. But who says liquid water, says potentially life, which largely motivated the mission. Four new studies, published in journals Science et Science Advances, now allow us to better understand the past of this crater, and therefore that of the red planet. And deliver a few surprises along the way.