Was The Red Planet Once A Lush 'Blue'?

While the soil of our favorite Red Planet may now seem arid and inhospitable- one where water is scarce or non-existent, this may not have been the case, billions of years ago.

An analysis of the images of the planet's surface using a new software technology by a team of scientists from the University of Illinois, shows evidence of dozens of valleys, more than twice as many, as was thought in the past.

This according to Professor Wei Luo, indicates that there were once a number of rivers that flowed from the planet's southern mountains and amalgamated into a giant ocean on the lower, northern end of the Planet.

The discovery of the new valleys is very important, because while their existence has been known since the Mariner 9 Spacecraft photographed them in 1971, scientists have been divided as to whether they were created by erosion from surface water (indicating rivers) or through a process of erosion known as ground water sapping - caused when water emerges as springs from the ground, a phenomenon that occurs in areas that are cold and arid.

Scientists now believe that the large number of valleys is proof that many years ago, Mars may have indeed received regular rainfall, which swelled the rivers and topped the oceans, just like it happens on Earth.

Also, thanks to the clear depiction of the valleys by the new software, the team of scientists, in collaboration with NASA, has been able to draw a more comprehensive map of the Red Planet.

The map prior to this, was created in 1990, by sketching over images of the Planet and was therefore neither very accurate, nor as detailed.

The scientists also believe that the fact that the planet had water means that it may have sustained life, meaning that Martians may have actually existed! Unfortunately, the current cold and dry conditions make that next to impossible today!

sources: independent.co.uk,sciencecodex.com,dailymail.co.uk