Evidence for water on Mars builds with new pics

Stan Beer
Friday, 16 February 2007 10:18

Science - Space

New photographic evidence from NASA has come to light supporting the theory that water once flowed underground on Mars and that the planet may possibly have been capable of supporting life.

According to a report, based on photographs from the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter taken late last year, gas or liquid that may have been water flowed through cracks in underground rock on the red planet. The rock and the crevices formed by the liquid flow are now visible due to the erosion of covering layers over millions of years.

The new findings follow the revelation last December that liquid water may still be flowing on Mars according to photographs snapped by the now defunct Mars Global Surveyor. Gullies thought to be only a few years old were snapped suggesting that salty water may be flowing on Mars today, with the high salt content inhibiting freezing.

University of Arizon geologist Dr Chris Okubo discovered the latest patterns indicating flowing liquid in an image of exposed layers in a Martian canyon named Candor Chasma.

"What caught my eye was the bleaching or lack of dark material along the fracture. That is a sign of mineral alteration by fluids that moved through those joints," said Okubo. "It reminded me of something I had seen during field studies in Utah, that is light-tone zones, or 'haloes,' on either side of cracks through darker sandstone."

According to the report, the Candor Chasma images are by no means unique on Mars, indicating the water flow may not have been a rare occurrence. Similar haloes adjacent to fractures show up in images that the high-resolution camera took of other places on Mars after the initial Candor Chasma image.

It has long been known that water exists in polar caps on Mars. However, the latest photographic findings are the first to suggest that water may also have existed or still exist in liquid form on the planet.