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Photos of water suggest possibility of life on Mars mongabay.com December 6, 2006 New NASA photos suggest the existence of water on Mars. The finding could suggest the possibility of life of the planet. "These observations give the strongest evidence to date that water still flows occasionally on the surface of Mars," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program in Washington.
"The shapes of these deposits are what you would expect to see if the material were carried by flowing water," said Michael Malin of Malin Space Science Systems. Malin is the lead author of the report, which published in the journal Science. "They have finger-like branches at the downhill end and easily diverted around small obstacles." NASA says that liquid water cannot persist long on Mars' surface due to the thines of the atmosphere and extreme cold. However, the researchers propose that "water could remain liquid long enough, after breaking out from an underground source, to carry debris downslope before totally freezing." The new images show two fresh deposits are each several hundred meters long. "These fresh deposits suggest that at some places and times on present-day Mars, liquid water is emerging from beneath the ground and briefly flowing down the slopes. This possibility raises questions about how the water would stay melted below ground, how widespread it might be, and whether there's a below-ground wet habitat conducive to life. Future missions may provide the answers," said Malin. This article is based on a news release from NASA. Recommend this article? Comments? >Digg this article | >Hugg this article | Contact News options
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