What’s up on Mars? Liquid water maybe
NASA has called a news conference for Monday about a “major science finding” on Mars, and there’s strong speculation it will announce there’s liquid water flowing on the Red Planet.
Streaks of salt running down cliffs and hillsides on Mars are the strongest evidence yet that modern- day water — a key ingredient in life — exists in important quantities.
The streaks have tantalized Mars- watchers for several years since a satellite photographed them. One study from 2013 suggests they reveal “surprisingly abundant liquid water” at some places on Mars, likely just under the surface where it could nurture life just as moist soil does on Earth.
The dark streaks could be dried salts left by salt water running on the surface. And since the lines fade and reappear over time, the scientists conclude that this water is still flowing regularly today.
Mars has been known to have water for years, but only as ice and snow, not liquid water. Matthew Chojnacki, a planetary geologist at the University of Arizona, says the new evidence was “hidden in plain sight,” unrecognized for 10 years. He describes it in a blog as “narrow, dark- toned streaks that descend steep Martian slopes, beginning in higher- lying rocky outcrops. We have watched them grow, fade, and reappear every year” in photos taken by a satellite orbiting Mars.
“They grow fast, over time scales as brief as a week. Their seasonal behaviour and preference for warm equator- facing slopes suggests that something volatile, like briny water, could be involved.”
Some are on canyon walls, others on smaller mounds. Most are near the equator, the warmest Martian region ( though still much colder than Earth, since Mars has very little atmosphere to trap heat).
NASA hasn’t said much about its news conference. But it gives a strong hint: One of the scheduled speakers is Lujendra Ojha, the student who first noticed the dark streaks years ago.