We still don’t know if cute and friendly Martians are hiding out, but NASA announced on Monday that researchers have discovered proof of recent flowing liquid water on Mars. These new discoveries bring us one step closer to the likelihood that there is life on the Red Planet.
Researchers had detected signs of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on Mars. These dark streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit , and disappear at colder times.
Scientists used the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to examine the evidence. The spacecraft found wet molecules of perchlorate (a chemical made up of chlorine and oxygen). The study found that something must be moistening Mars’s deposits of perchlorate and that something must be liquid water.
Since liquid is necessary to sustain living organisms, these new discoveries suggest that it would be possible for there to be life on Mars.
What do you think? Will we be hearing of the discovery of Little Green Men anytime soon?
