Scientists announced the unambiguous evidence for the presence of liquid water on Mars

Automatic interplanetary station Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, exploring Mars for nine years, has found the strongest evidence to date of the existence on the surface of Mars, liquid water. Judging from satellite data, in the warm seasons on the surface appear streams of salt water.

On the opening announced planetary Luhendra Ozhha [Lujendra Ojha] Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He also said that the possibility of life in these streams depends on the degree of salinity. "If the water is supersaturated with salts of perchloric acid, in a water known to us on Earth life forms could not exist. But with a small concentration of perchlorate everything can be different ».



Dark stripes on the surface of the planet, first discovered in 2010, scientists have long hinted at their water origin. Their width does not exceed six meters. They periodically mysteriously appeared and disappeared from the surface of Mars. But only now succeeded in applying spectrometer CRISM, located on board the MRO, to analyze the reflected sunlight to determine the minerals that make up these bands, as well as to detect molecular water in their crystal structure.

"These dark stripes just love to appear at temperatures just suitable for the presence of liquid water», - поясняет Ozhha . The warmer the temperature on the surface of Mars can reach 20 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, saturated water perchlorates, freezing point is below 0 degrees. So, according to scientists, these dark bands are the salts left behind after water flows.



Regarding the possible source of this water has not yet formed a clear opinion. Water may condense on the perchlorates from the atmosphere, or vice versa, to emerge from the deposits of ice that melt on contact with the salts. In addition, the planet could even be an aquifer. Remarkably, one of the locations of these bands is located just 50 kilometers from the current position of the rover Curiosity.

Indirect evidence of liquid water on Mars found many . But now scientists are now confident of the existence of unambiguous evidence of liquid on the surface of Mars water. And it naturally increases the possibility of finding microbial life there, since the origin of life on Earth, scientists have linked to the aquatic environment.

Source: geektimes.ru/post/263090/