NASA announced Monday that the latest data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provides the strongest evidence yet that liquid water sometimes flows on Mars.

An imaging spectrometer on the Orbiter detected "signatures of hydrated minerals" in streaks on some slopes on Mars. The streaks appear to flow during warm times of the Martian year and disappear when it's cold.

“This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water -- albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

This discovery will lead to more understanding of what Mars is like and could be an important step towards human exploration of the Red Planet.

Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, said “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”

(VIA)

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