X

Gallery: Photos suggest flowing water on Mars

Several observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show evidence of water flowing during the warmest months on the Red Planet.
By Andy Smith, Contributor
6272318.jpg
1 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

Several observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show evidence of salt water flowing during the warmest months on Mars. The discovery of dark finger-like features that grow and fade during the seasons give new hope to the possible existance of life on the Red Planet.

"The best explanation for these observations so far is the flow of briny water," said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, Tucson. McEwen is the principal investigator for the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE).

More than 1,000 individual flows have been discovered from 0.5 to 5 yards wide with lengths of hundreds of yards long.

This image shows flows that appear in spring and summer on a slope inside Mars' Newton crater.

Previously, on Mars: Gallery: Landing site chosen for new Mars rover Curiosity and What rover Spirit discovered on Mars.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

6272309.jpg
2 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

This before and after look shows the features of possible water flows. Scientists believe it must be salt water as the temperatures encountered would freeze fresh water but would allow salt water to flow as its freezing termperature is lower.

The images show a slope on the Newton crater.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

6272311.jpg
3 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

The image above taken in a colder season shows no evidence of water flow while the evidence does exist in the lower image taken in the Martian summer.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

6272312.jpg
4 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

Here is a similar looking flow in the Horowitz crater.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

6272313.jpg
5 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

NASA explains this map:

"Coloring of the map is coded to concentrations of shallow subsurface water ice found by the Gamma Ray Spectrometer - Neutron Spectrometer on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter. Blue, at high latitudes north and south, indicates higher concentrations of water ice (deduced from detection of hydrogen); orange designates lowest concentrations."

"The white squares in the northern hemisphere mark locations of small fresh impact craters that exposed water ice close to the surface and validated the neutron spectrometer data."

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/UA/LANL/MSSS

6272314.jpg
6 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

Possible water flows are shown at the arrow below which faces the Martian equator.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

6272315.jpg
7 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

Potential salty water flows at the Horowitz crater.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

6272316.jpg
8 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

On Earth unfrozen brine in cryopegs and fracture networks provide a home for organisms both within and under frozen rocky materials and the same conditions could very well exist on Mars.

Image credit: NASA/Indiana University

6272317.jpg
9 of 9 Andy Smith/ZDNET

This observation is from a crater in the Terra Sirenum region.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes
Holiday lights in Central Park background

Related Galleries

Holiday wallpaper for your phone: Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's, and winter scenes

21 Photos
Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting
Wooden lodge in pine forest with heavy snow reflection on Lake O'hara at Yoho national park

Related Galleries

Winter backgrounds for your next virtual meeting

21 Photos
Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes
3D Rendering Christmas interior

Related Galleries

Holiday backgrounds for Zoom: Christmas cheer, New Year's Eve, Hanukkah and winter scenes

21 Photos
Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza
img-8825

Related Galleries

Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6: Electric vehicle extravaganza

26 Photos
A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex
img-9792-2

Related Galleries

A weekend with Google's Chrome OS Flex

22 Photos
Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup
shutterstock-1024665187.jpg

Related Galleries

Cybersecurity flaws, customer experiences, smartphone losses, and more: ZDNet's research roundup

8 Photos
Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'
Full of promises!

Related Galleries

Inside a fake $20 '16TB external M.2 SSD'

8 Photos