NASA Announces Flowing Water on Mars

By MARC TORRENCE (Patch National Staff)

Strong evidence exists for flowing water on Mars’ surface, NASA scientists announced in a press conference Monday at its Washington headquarters.

Mars was previously thought to only have water on its surface in the form of ice at its poles.

Georgia Tech graduate student and former employee of the Southern California Earthquake Center Lujendra Ojha was the lead author on the study, which was published in the Nature Geoscience journal.

He and the team, which included several NASA scientists, concluded there is strong evidence for seasonal, salty water flow, which could point to the planet’s potential for life.

“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water — albeit briny — is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

The scientists made this discovery by studying long streaks that would pop up during the summer on the planet’s surface — what they call “recurring slope lineae.”

They determined that the streaks are most likely formed by water, which flows during warm seasons on the red planet and disappears when the temperature drops.

“The discovery we’re talking about today is most exciting because it suggests it would be possible for life to be there today,” Grunsfeld said.

You can see images of this Mars water flow here.

“Water is an essential ingredient for life,” Mary Beth Wilhelm of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View said. “This discovery may mean more potentially habitable locations on Mars.”

The discovery could also help further pave the way for a human mission to Earth’s red neighbor.

“Mars has resources that are useful to future travelers,” Grunsfeld said. “When you have water - hydrogen and oxygen - that’s what we make rocket fuel out of.”

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Image via NASA