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NASA unveils visual evidence of martian water

gullies
 larger 
The appearance of these gullies in the Gorgonum Chaos region of Mars suggest that liquid water has seeped out of the surface recently  

June 22, 2000
Web posted at: 12:09 PM EDT (1609 GMT)


In this story:

'Surprised and confused'

'Possibility of life on mars'

RELATED STORIES, SITES icon



(CNN) -- NASA scientists on Thursday revealed images of gullies, channels and deltas on Mars that they say indicate the presence of liquid water near the surface of the red planet and have "profound implications for the prospect of life" there.

Looking at high-resolution images from the Mars Global Surveyor Spacecraft, planetary geologists detected signs of recent water activity in numerous locations, according to a report on the discovery in Science magazine.

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"It might have been a thousand years ago, a million years ago, perhaps even yesterday," NASA Associate Administrator Ed Weiler told reporters.

Principal investigators Michael Malin and Ken Edgett published their findings online in Science and discussed their findings with reporters Thursday.

The duo found signs of groundwater seepage and surface runoff in hundreds of locations, mostly in high latitudes and in the southern hemisphere. The sites include gullies and alluvial fans within the walls of pits, valleys and impact craters.

More than 90 percent of the features occur south of the equator and most occur on pole-facing slopes.

'Surprised and confused'

"We were quite surprised and confused by it. It didn't fit our model of what Mars is like," said Malin of the Surveyor data. Malin Space Sciences operates a camera onboard the NASA satellite, which has orbited Mars since 1997.

Scientists have long thought Mars' surface coursed with water billions of years ago, based on evidence of liquid erosion and signs of ancient channels and seas. But the water all but disappeared as the planet cooled and its atmosphere thinned.

Water is known to exist today as ice in the northern polar cap and as vapor in faint clouds. Groundwater would likely turn into vapor or ice soon after it bubbled to the surface.

'Possibility of life on Mars'

Canyon
Water may have once been abundant on Mars, then disappeared as the planet cooled and its atmosphere thinned  

But the presence of liquid water near the surface could strengthen the theory that life exists or once existed on Mars.

"If these results prove true, that there is water on Mars near the surface, it has profound implications of the possibility of life on Mars," Weiler said.

Low-flying airplanes or robotic balloons could make closer observations of the seepage features, suggested U.S. Geological Survey scientist Kenneth Tanaka in Science.

Liquid water on Mars would also make travel to the planet easier. Astronauts could convert water into hydrogen and oxygen, using both as rocket fuel and the second for breathing gas.

NASA last tried to search for water on the red planet in 1999. The doomed Mars Polar Lander was to dig beneath the surface and study the atmosphere to look for signs of the liquid. But the robot ship went silent as it entered the atmosphere of the red planet on December 3.

NASA plans to launch an orbiter in 2001 to examine the seepage sites for evidence of water-related minerals. The agency is also considering two other unmanned missions to Mars in 2003.

Correspondent Miles O'Brien contributed to this report.



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Mars lander eludes searchers on Earth
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RELATED SITES:
NASA
Mars Global Surveyor
Science
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Malin Space Science Systems
The Mars Society
Mars Explorer for the Armchair Astronaut

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