New research hints that Mars' water vanished around 3.5 billion years ago when its carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere thinned out
Nasa's robotic InSight lander collected data that revealed that enough water is hiding deep under the surface of Mars to form an ocean covering the planet
The road to Mars is long and arduous. But with the visionary drive of Elon Musk, we might find ourselves among the stars one day
An international team of researchers has found new evidence for the possible existence of liquid water beneath the south polar ice cap of Mars. The results, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, provide the first independent line of evidence, using data other than radar, that there is liquid water beneath Mars' south pole. The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge with involvement from the University of Sheffield, used spacecraft laser-altimeter measurements of the shape of the upper surface of the ice cap to identify subtle patterns in its height. They then showed that these patterns match computer model predictions for how a body of water beneath the ice cap would affect the surface. Their results are in agreement with earlier ice-penetrating radar measurements that were originally interpreted to show a potential area of liquid water beneath the ice. There has been debate over the liquid water interpretation from the radar data alone, with some studies suggesting
The study is based on observations made with the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The planet's atmosphere is of low pressure and very dry
The goal of Curiosity rover mission has been to find out if Mars was ever habitable