Mawrth Vallis is one of the oldest valleys on the planet Mars. It was discovered then that water once flowed in the past in this region. With this, it becomes the possible landing site for Mars 2020 rover that analyzes rock samples in a maximum depth of 2 meters.
Mawrth or Mars in Welsh is situated on the transition between the southern highland regions and the northern lowlands of Mars. It was covered by layered rock and is now being unearthed. Mawrth Vallis is an ancient water outflow channel that has light-colored clay-rich rocks. The region has visibility of phyllosilicate (clay) minerals that only form when water is available. This was first detected by the OMEGA spectrometer on the European Space Agency's Mars express orbiter. The clays that were discovered in the valley were kaolinite, montmorillonite and nontronite.
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