Once again we ponder the question: does Mars have water?
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Courtesy of NASA
New Evidence for Water on Mars
News story originally written on June 22, 2000
Scientist have discovered more evidence supporting the theory that liquid water is on Mars.
The Mars Global Surveyor took pictures showing channels that were recently made on the Martian surface.
Scientists say the channels are new, unlike previous images showing ancient channels made during the planet's formation.
"The story the pictures tell us is really inexplicable," Michael Malin told the Washington Post. Malin is one of the scientists working on the project.
"These have all the classic morphology of seepage-induced mass runoff."
In other words, some kind of liquid created these channels, one of which travels through a sand dune. Scientists say the
dry riverbeds are about 6 feet deep. Up until now, it was thought that water flowed on Mars millions of years ago. But the cold, dry
atmosphere of today shouldn't allow liquid water on the surface. This evidence changes all of that.
"The images look really convincing," Michael Carr of the U.S. Geological Survey,
who has reviewed the findings, told the Post. "There's something
very peculiar going on there. It's very stimulating."
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