New evidence for Mars water source
Nasa says the evidence of water transportation is "compelling"
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Wednesday, 06, Dec 2006 07:44
The theory that liquid water sources exist on Mars has been lent considerable weight by Nasa photographs that show new material deposits in gullies that had previously been charted.
Evidence from Nasa's Mars Global Surveyor suggests that water has transported sediment through the channels during the last seven years.
Scientists at Nasa are excited over the apparent discovery of liquid water on the red planet as it "heightens intrigue about the potential for microbial life on Mars".
Michael Meyer, lead scientist for Nasa's Washington-based Mars exploration programme said: "These observations give the strongest evidence to date that water still flows occasionally on the surface of Mars."
Mars' atmosphere is so thin and the temperature so cold that liquid water is quickly evaporated or frozen, but researchers contend that the water movements displayed in the photographs taken by the orbiter's camera are proof that water can remain in liquid form long enough to carry debris down a slope.
The fresh deposits in the Terra Sirenum and Centauri Montes regions of southern Mars are each several hundred metres long.
Contact has been lost with the Mars Global Surveyor since November, with the probe defying Nasa expectations by outlasting its predicted lifespan.