NASA has confirmed the existence of liquid water on Mars, during warmer seasons, after the publication of a research in Nature Geosciences.
This info came from data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), a spacecraft that studies the planet from the orbit.
MRO recognized the appearance of several dark spots on Mars that appeared and disappeared depending on the temperature and seasonal changes. The argument is supported by leaks that show the liquid water flow downwards from a hill.
Tentatively, this isn’t the first study or report regarding the revelation of water on Mars. Scientists are of the view that Mars once had been a home of an ocean over 4 billion years ago. And current revelations from Mars Curiosity Rover also depict the presence of some liquid over the Martian Surface.
The arguments among scientists over presence or absence of water on Mars has taken a rather comical turn. Alfred McEwen, planetary geologist, Planetary Image Research Laboratory, joked in “Scientific American”,
Congo! You discovered water on Mars for the 1000th time
Scientists have supported their arguments and ideas due to the appearance of dark streaks or spots on Mars, called Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL). The streaks show a varying a pattern as they fade during colder season and reappear during the hot season.
Michael Meyer, scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA said,
“The streaks appear in spring, and escape in the fall.”
Ojha, geomorphologist Lujendr has also voiced his views on it saying:
“Something is hydrating these salts, depending upon the seasons, as it appears in the springs but fades in the falls. So the water on Mars is briny rather than pure one. Though salts lower the freezing point of water. Even if RSL are slightly underground, then the surface would be a little bit colder than the Mars surface and it will allow water to stay on Mars rather than vanishing.”
The presence of water on Mars is a universal phenomenon and the human race, as a whole, is looking at the consequences that will be fruitful for us.