NASA finds liquid flowing water on Mars

“There have been no evidence for water until now”, said Michael Meyer, the lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA.

The full study was published on Nature Geoscience and is totally worth a read if you’re into it.

NASA says, the next step now would be to locate the source for the water and then analyze a few samples from Mars to find evidence of a few organic life.

Not only do the streaks form during warmer temperatures on Mars, NASA scientists said, but the presence of hydrated salts in these areas suggests the presence of water. Spotted by the agency’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, the streaks go away during cooler seasons. Earlier this year, the rover Curiosity found that liquid water is present under the Martian surface.

Researchers measured the spectral signatures of hydrated minerals on the planet’s slopes where mysterious, possibly water-related streaks are found. Lujendra Ojha first discovered the streaks in 2010 when he was a University of Arizona undergraduate.

Using an infra-red spectrometer from the MRO, the scientists revealed that the dark streaks were composed of hydrated salts, such as perchlorates or sulfates.

Although liquid water seems to appear only during the summer, NASA scientists said that it is still possible for Martian life to thrive albeit they may have to hibernate when the water disappears.

Researchers are now focused on learning where the water comes from.

Scientists have long believed that water once flowed freely across the red planet and was responsible for forming its valleys and canyons.

The discovery hints towards a full-fledged life that may have had sustained on Red Planet in the past.

These salt minerals called perchlorates apparently contain water molecules in their composition. The findings strongly support the hypothesis that recurring slope lineae form as a result of contemporary water activity on Mars.

The real question from this discovery becomes – where did the water for this briny solution come from?