How vital is water quality?
Now, it is widely believed Mars has a large amount of water.
But, because of its extreme cold surface, water on the planet’s surface exists as ice.
Many scientists agree that liquid water is vital for human 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 provided clues to water erosion in canyons and riverbeds. It also revealed evidence of fogs and weather fronts on Mars in 1971.
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 red planet’s history, citing the debris and mud left behind.
However, this question has been heatedly debated over the past years.
Mars rocks provide evidence that ice exists
Spirit and Opportunity, twin rovers found evidence that water was contained in rocks in 2007. In 2007, one of Spirit’s wheels burst and gorged an entire piece of rock.
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 wandering across an ancient martian seabed in 2012 when it examined several rocks that had been exposed to liquid water many billions of year ago.
Debate and recurring slope lineae are causes of it
In 2011, the first recurring slope lines (RSL), were identified.
These dark spots populate areas on Mars that have a steep 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’s first soil sample was taken in September 2013. It revealed two percent water content.
Nasa claims to have found liquid water on Mars for the first time in 2015.
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 darker streaks can be found on Mars’ steep slopes. 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 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.
In 2017, researchers also gave the best estimate of the water content on Mars. It claimed it had once contained more liquid H2O that the Arctic Ocean. And these oceans have remained intact for 1.5 billion year.
These findings indicate that Mars had ample water and time for life to flourish, however over the past 3.7 billion years Mars has lost 87% of its water. This leaves the planet barren and dry.
A subterranean lake
ESO researchers discovered evidence that Mars has liquid water in their first study, published in Science.
ESO’s radar imagery of Mars Express has shown that the ESO team found an underground lake 12 miles long filled with liquid.