What is liquid water’s importance?
Widely accepted belief is that Mars contains a substantial amount of water.
This water is only possible because the Earth’s surface is so frigid that it freezes to ice.
Scientists believe that water is vital to the survival of life on earth.
Since the advent of technology, mankind has been looking at Mars from a closer perspective.
Is it possible that water flowed on Mars’ surface in the past?
Mariner 9 revealed signs of water erosion in river beds, canyons, and evidence of weather fronts or fogs on Mars in 1972.
Further missions by Viking orbiters (first launched 1975) revealed more information about the flow of water on the surface. They also carved valleys.
For decades, there have been many studies that looked into the possibility of liquid water. It was 2000 that the first demonstration of liquid water on Mars surface was made.
According to some, the water that created the gullies on the planet’s surface was flowing from the ocean.
Researchers cited evidence that moving water existed at one point in the history red planet’s history, citing the remains of debris and mud.
However, it has been hotly debated how these gullies formed over the past years.
Mars rocks provide evidence that ice exists
Spirit and Opportunity were twin rovers that found evidence of water in rocks. In 2007 one Spirit’s wheel broke and gorged a small piece of stone.
The scratch’s silica-rich layer was found to have formed when liquid water was present.
2008. The Phoenix lander, which was collecting samples from geology, vanished within a matter of days.
Scientists believed these pieces were ice. Later, the lander found water vapour within a sample.
In 2012, Curiosity was meandering over an ancient martian seabed when it examined a number of rocks that were exposed to liquid water billions of years ago.
Curiosity, pictured (pictured), was meandering across an ancient martian seabed in 2012 when it examined several rocks that had been exposed to liquid water many billions of year ago.
It can be caused by recurring slope lines and debat.
The recurring slope lineae (RSL), are features that were discovered for the first time in 2011.
These streaks are found in areas with sharp incline.
These were thought to be caused by intermittent water flow down steep hills on Earth, according to researchers.
Curiosity discovered strong evidence in June 2013 that Mars once had water suitable for drinking. Curiosity also discovered that only 2% of fine soil materials contained water.
Nasa declared in 2015 that it had discovered liquid water on Mars.
The space agency said that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provided the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.
2017. Another statement was issued by Nasa, refuting the initial findings.
The recurring slope lineae, also known as RSL (pictured), are features that were discovered for the first time in 2011. These streaks are found in areas on Mars that have a steep incline. Scientists speculate that they may be due to the irregular flow of liquid water.
According to the report, the dark spots that appear on red planet’s steep inclines were actually granular flow, which is where fine grains of sand or dust slide downhill and make dark streaks. This was not due to the ground becoming darker from seeping water.
Images from the MRO revealed the streaks only exist on slopes steep enough for dry grains to descend the way they do on faces of active dunes.
Scientists also provided 2017 the most accurate estimates of water on Mars. They claimed that the planet once held more liquid H2O then the Arctic Ocean. This was despite the fact that the oceans lasted for over 1.5 billion years.
Although the findings show that Mars was able to sustain life, it has experienced a loss of 87% water over its 3.7 billion year history.
A subterranean lake
ESO scientists have discovered concrete evidence of liquid water on Mars in a paper published in Science.
The ESO team discovered a 12 mile long underground lake with liquid water using radar images from Mars Express.