Sept. 28, 2015 was a historic day for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In a press conference shortly before noon, the American space agency announced that researchers had confirmed that presence of water on the surface of Mars.
“Mars is not the dry, arid planet that we thought of in the past,” said Jim Green, the director of NASA’s planetary science division, during the press conference. “Liquid water has been found on Mars.” While the source of the water remains unknown, the mere presence of liquid water on the surface of the planet is astounding.
“This is tremendously exciting,” continued Green in the conference. “We haven’t been able to answer the question, ‘Does life exist beyond Earth?’ But following the water is a critical element of that. We now have, I think, great opportunities in the right locations on Mars to thoroughly investigate that.”
Scientists were able to confirm that previously spotted dark streaks running down the side of various Martian canyons and slopes were, in fact, a brine compound with high concentrations of salts. Salt lowers the freezing point of water significantly enough for small streams to form in Martian summers, when the temperature is above -23ºC.
Scientists had previously found evidence of the remains of liquid water, including formations that appear to be river and lakebeds. Earlier this year, NASA produced evidence that the northern hemisphere of the planet was at one point covered in a vast ocean. Additionally, the presence of frozen water has been known for decades. Until Sept. 28, however, it was believed that the Martian surface was simply too cold to allow for liquid water to form.
The discovery was made by the Mars Orbiter, after radiation revealed the presence of hydrated salts only in the dark streaks running downhill—known previously as recurring slope lineae. Scientists will keep the Mars Rover away from the liquid areas for now to avoid possible contamination. Until the next probe lands, scientists will be busy trying to determine the source of the water.
It is possible that the water is runoff from giant Martian icecaps, which melt in reaction to the presence of salt. Underwater springs could be responsible if the surrounding rock has high enough salt content, however this would still not explain water flowing from some craters.
Another possible explanation is condensation. Surface salts could absorb water from the atmosphere until they become heavy enough to flow downhill, in a process known as deliquescence. The process has been observed in deserts here on Earth before. These damp salty patches in the Atacama Desert support microbiotic life forms known as halophiles.
A probe is being planned for landing in 2020 to test for either currently living or fossilized life in the wet areas.
“These may be the best places to search for extant life near the surface of Mars,” said planetary geologist Alfred McEwan, who heads NASA’s HiRISE high-resolution camera aboard the Mars orbiter, in an interview with The Guardian. “While it would be very important to find evidence of ancient life, it would be difficult to understand the biology. Current life would be much more informative.”
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The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.