Water On Mars?

Ever since the beginning of time, people have known that planet Earth has plenty of water, but find running water in other planets has been a little elusive - Until now! On August 5th, NASA scientists revealed that they had found dozens of dark streaks on the surface of Mars that they believe are a result of running water.

The stunning discovery was made thanks to high-resolution pictures taken by a powerful camera called HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) that is aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been orbiting around and taking pictures of the red planet, for the last five years.

The streaks were discovered running inside narrow channels along the inner walls of a small crater called Newton, located on the southern hemisphere of Mars. What makes the water theory even more credible, is the fact that the streaks are not permanent, but come and go depending on the season. When the planet heats up the water melts and runs downhill, while during winter when it freezes, the streaks disappear.

Scientists believe that if this is indeed caused by water, it is bound to be extremely salty because fresh water would freeze permanently given the extreme Martian winter temperatures.

Though the scientists are still not 100% sure, this is the closest they have gotten to obtaining the proof to support the widely-believed theory that in the past the red planet used to be wet and warm. We wonder what the Orbiter will discover next - Aliens perhaps?