NASA discovers liquid water on Mars

2015-09-28T14:57:00-04:00

“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”

In an announcement made this morning, NASA stated that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has detected "the strongest evidence yet" of liquid water on the fourth planet from the Sun.

The new evidence emerged from data collected by an imaging spectrometer mounted on the spacecraft, which was launched in 2005 and has been orbiting Mars since 2006. According to the announcement, "researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet." The signatures appear to corroborate existing hypotheses.

Known as recurring slop lineae (RSL), the streaks seem to ebb and flow, apparently in accord with seasonal fluctuations. Previously suggested as an indicator of the presence of water, the discovery of hydrated salts further validates this idea.

The salts – likely a mixture of magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate, and sodium perchlorate – would help lower the freezing point of what is likely a subsurface flow that occasionally breach...

Archinect - News

NASA discovers liquid water on Mars