There's an air of relief in the science team running the American space agency's (Nasa) Perseverance rover on Mars.
The researchers are sure now they've sent the robot to a location that provides the best possible opportunity to find signs of ancient life.
"Percy" touched down in Jezero Crater in February and ever since has been snapping thousands of images of its surroundings.
The interpretation of these pictures forms the basis of the first scholarly paper to make it into print, in this week's edition of Science Magazine.
The analysis confirms the rover is sitting on the floor of a once great lake that was fed by a meandering river entering the deep bowl from the west. We're talking of events over 3.5 billion years ago when the Red Planet's climate was far more benign.
From Perseverance's observations, it's now certain that where the river system met the lake water, the flows suddenly slowed and the sediment in suspension fell out to form a delta - the kind of wedge-shaped "landform" you'll see all over the Earth. READ MORE...
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