Looking fairly certain.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0928/730...id-water-mars/
New research has found evidence to prove that flowing liquid water is almost certainly responsible for strange seasonal features in the landscape of Mars.
Experts say the discovery increases the likelihood that life exists on the red planet.
For some time scientists have been trying to identify the narrow streaks that appear to flow down slopes on Mars during warm seasons.
Known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), they are typically less than 5 metres wide and are up to 100 metres in length, and fade when the weather becomes cooler.
Researchers had speculated in recent years that water could be involved in their formation, but had been unable to prove it.
However, high resolution images of four different locations on the planet, taken using the CRISM spectrometer on board the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter, have finally settled the issue.
Analysed using a new technique, the satellite gathered data has found that the gullies contain salt minerals left over from briny water flowing down the slopes, and which are not present in the surrounding terrain.
The US based scientists involved in the research, which is published in the journal Nature Geoscience, say the "results strongly support the hypothesis that seasonal warm slopes are forming liquid water on contemporary Mars."
Mars is a cold barren desert today but is thought to have been warmer and wetter billions of years ago, with a thicker atmosphere, rivers and oceans.
Much of the planet's water is believed to have evaporated into space, but some remains locked in the polar icecaps and possibly in pockets underground.
It is not yet clear where the water found by this study is coming from.
One theory is that it may be absorbed from the atmosphere by the salt.
While others think it may be the result of melting ice just under the surface or seasonal discharges from local aquifers.
The discovery will heighten speculation about the probability of life being present on Mars.
Back on Earth, life has been found to exist in the most harsh of locations, provided water is there too.
The discovery also has implications for the chance of success for future human exploration of the planet, as the water could potentially be used for fuel and the survival of astronauts.
At four locations, Palikir Crater, Horowitz Crater, Hale Crater, and Coprates Chasma - a huge Martian canyon - they found evidence of RSL salt deposits.
The most common salts were magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate, all of which are consistent with flowing briny water.
Experts say the discovery increases the likelihood that life exists on the red planet.
For some time scientists have been trying to identify the narrow streaks that appear to flow down slopes on Mars during warm seasons.
Known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), they are typically less than 5 metres wide and are up to 100 metres in length, and fade when the weather becomes cooler.
Researchers had speculated in recent years that water could be involved in their formation, but had been unable to prove it.
However, high resolution images of four different locations on the planet, taken using the CRISM spectrometer on board the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter, have finally settled the issue.
Analysed using a new technique, the satellite gathered data has found that the gullies contain salt minerals left over from briny water flowing down the slopes, and which are not present in the surrounding terrain.
The US based scientists involved in the research, which is published in the journal Nature Geoscience, say the "results strongly support the hypothesis that seasonal warm slopes are forming liquid water on contemporary Mars."
Mars is a cold barren desert today but is thought to have been warmer and wetter billions of years ago, with a thicker atmosphere, rivers and oceans.
Much of the planet's water is believed to have evaporated into space, but some remains locked in the polar icecaps and possibly in pockets underground.
It is not yet clear where the water found by this study is coming from.
One theory is that it may be absorbed from the atmosphere by the salt.
While others think it may be the result of melting ice just under the surface or seasonal discharges from local aquifers.
The discovery will heighten speculation about the probability of life being present on Mars.
Back on Earth, life has been found to exist in the most harsh of locations, provided water is there too.
The discovery also has implications for the chance of success for future human exploration of the planet, as the water could potentially be used for fuel and the survival of astronauts.
At four locations, Palikir Crater, Horowitz Crater, Hale Crater, and Coprates Chasma - a huge Martian canyon - they found evidence of RSL salt deposits.
The most common salts were magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate, all of which are consistent with flowing briny water.
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