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NASA Announces Evidence of Liquid Water Flowing Intermittently on Present-Day Mars

New findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars. Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and disappear at colder times. These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), often have been described as possibly related to liquid water. The new findings of hydrated salts on the slopes point to what that relationship may be to these dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more rapidly. Scientists say it's likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.

Topics:
Aerospace Imaging Test & Measurement

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    Transcript

    00:00:02 INNOVATING, EXPLORING, DISCOVERY AND INSPIRING AND WE HAVE SOME VERY INNOVATIVE INSTRUMENTS ORBITING MARS ON THE SURFACE OF MARS. STATE OF THE ART OW BEGINNING TO UNSTAND. WHAT WE'RE GOING TO ANNOUNCE TODAY IS THAT MARS IS NOT THE

    00:00:25 DRY PLANET WE THOUGHT OF IN THE THROUGH THE REST OFHE PRESS CONFERENCE TO SAVE EVERYBODY THE TROUBLE OF SAYING IT. THESE ARE DARK STREAKS THAT FORM IN L ON THE GROURND. THE ARROWS ARE POINTING TO THE TIPS OF THESE RSL. THEY ACTUALLY BEGIN WAY UP IN

    00:00:44 THE TOPS OF THIS HILL HERE AND AS THEY FLOW DOWN OVER THE BEDROCK AND THAT'SNTHESE ARE FEG ABOUT AND IF I CAN GO TO THE NEXT GRAPH THIS WILL SHOW YOU THE BLACK AND WHITE IMAGES. IT'S ALL ALONG THE NORTH AND WEST FACING ACRE. ON THE RIGHT IS AN ANIMATED GIF AND SHOWS THE SEQUENCE WHERE

    00:01:26 THEY START TO FORL IN THE EARLY SUMMER. THEY GROW. EITHER GRADUALLY, VERY GRADUALLY OR INCREMENTALLY AND THEN THEY STOP GROWING AND THEY FADE AND THEN HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR WATER TRAPPED INSIDE THE SALT STRUCTURE WOULD BE MORE STABLE

    00:01:47 AND THAT'S WHAT WE OBSERVE HERE. THIS MEANS THAT THE SOURCE OF HYDRATION OR SOURCE OF MOLECULAR WATER IS EITHER DUE TO THE MOREY DISTRIBUTED THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. SO TO SUMMARIZE, OUR FINDINGS STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT THESE ARE FORMED BY LIQUID WATER ON PRESENT DAY MARS.

    00:02:09 THE DETECTION OKAY. I GUESS EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT ME SO I'LL GIVE YOU MY FEELING. WHEN YOU LOOK AT EARTH, WATER IS AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT IN JUST ABOUT -- EVERYWHERE WE GO WHETHER IT'S LIQUID WATER, WHETHER IT'S DEEP IN THE EARTH OR IN REGIONS WE FIND. WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO ANSWER

    00:02:37 THE QUESTION IS LIFE BEYOND EARTH BUT IT'S CRITICAL O EXPLON OF THESE UNIQUEEGIONS ON MARS. WATER MAYBE IMPORTANT FOR EXPLORERS OF MARS. LOOKING FORWARD IS IMPERATIVE FOR US T