Scientists find evidence of salt water flowing on Mars
Camera spies what could be streams of salt water.
Using a powerful camera on a spacecraft in orbit around the red planet, scientists have spied what may be small streams of salty water flowing on Mars during warm seasons. Scientists have identified seven craters on Mars in which dark, finger-like features appear and seem to flow down slopes or tiny gullies during late spring through summer.
The most plausible explanation is that these features are caused by salty, or briny water.
“We do not have direct detection of water,” said Alfred McEwen, a University of Arizona planetary geologist who led the team that made the discovery. "But these features are clearly associated with warmer temperatures on Mars, and we see them grow incrementally and fade."
Scientists have previously found large deposits of ice at the Martian poles, as well as water vapor in the atmosphere. There's also a wealth of evidence, such as ancient shorelines and river beds, of abundant surface water in Mars' past. But from the standpoint of finding living organisms on Mars today, the existence of water in a liquid form could make a big difference.
Raw Story: "Flowing water" on Mars sparks hunt for ancient life