NASA images show evidence of flowing water on mars - Polidicks

[quote] Striking new images from the mountains of Mars may be the best evidence yet of flowing, liquid water, an essential ingredient for life. The findings, [URL="http://www.sciencemag.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1204816"]reported today in the journal Science[/URL], come from a joint US-Swiss study. A sequence of images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show many long, dark "tendrils" a few metres wide. They emerge between rocky outcrops and flow hundreds of metres down steep slopes towards the plains below. They appear on hillsides warmed by the summer sun, flow around obstacles and sometimes split or merge, but when winter returns, the tendrils fade away. This suggests that they are made of thawing mud, say the researchers. "It's hard to imagine they are formed by anything other than fluid seeping down slopes," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Scientist Richard Zurek of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but they appear when it's still too cold for fresh water. Salty water "The best explanation we have for these observations so far is flow of briny water, although this study does not prove that," said planetary geologist and lead author Professor Alfred McEwen of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona. Saltiness lowers the temperature at which water freezes, and water about as salty as Earth's oceans could exist at these sites in summer. "This could be the first flowing water," said Professor McEwen. This has profound implications in the search for extraterrestrial life. "Liquid water is absolutely essential for life, and we've found life on Earth in pretty much every moist niche," said Dr Lewis Dartnell, astrobiologist at University College London, who was not involved in the study. "So perhaps there could be hardy microbes surviving in these short periods of summer meltwater on the desert surface of Mars." This was echoed by an expert on life in extreme environments, Professor Shiladitya DasSarma of the University of Maryland, also not involved in this study: "Their results are consistent with the presence of large and extensive underground salty lakes on Mars." "This is an exciting possibility for those of us studying salt-loving (halophilic) micro-organisms here on Earth, since it opens the possibility that these kinds of hearty bugs may also inhabit our neighbouring planet," he said. "Halophilic microbes are champions at withstanding the most punishing conditions, complete desiccation and ionising (space) radiation." For geologist Joe Levy of Portland State University, a specialist in Antarctic desert ecosystems, who did not contribute to this work, they represent "a truly tantalising astrobiological target". These small and mysterious tendrils could then be the best place to look for Martian life. Professor McEwen says that "for present-day life, these are the most accessible sites". [/quote] Source [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14408928[/url] [img]http://www.dailygalaxy.com/.a/6a00d8341bf7f753ef014e8a61a29a970d-800wi[/img] One of the images in question.

Time to go colonize it Now.

Again? :v:

Edited the OP with a picture.

I thought they already found water on mars.

Every new article made about Mars supports the fact that it is habitable. GO GET IT!

Meh, lets make sure we ruin Earth first.

[QUOTE=Glent;31532135]I thought they already found water on mars.[/QUOTE] Yeah, they found frozen water on Mars. This is the first melted flowing water they've found.

Every time I hear someone saying "Colonize mars" I instantly think of Total Recall.

[QUOTE=Glent;31532135]I thought they already found water on mars.[/QUOTE] correct me if i'm wrong but i think they found ice, but not flowing water(?) [editline]4th August 2011[/editline] ninja'd

Cool. We won't ever get there to do anything with it, but cool.

That picture looks like a screenshot from Borderlands or something, with all the sharpening. :v:

[QUOTE=YourFriendJoe;31532199]Meh, lets make sure we ruin Earth first.[/QUOTE] Ruin? We are utilizing (or abusing) Earths resources. It all comes down to how efficiently you use them.

[QUOTE=Gekkosan;31532337]Ruin? We are utilizing (or abusing) Earths resources. It's all comes down to how efficiently you use them.[/QUOTE] can we discover zero point energy already

[QUOTE=MightyMax;31532312]Cool. We won't ever get there to do anything with it, but cool.[/QUOTE] whenever i think about this kind of stuff it always strikes me how much it sucks to have been born when we were. i mean if we ever leave earth to go to mars it'd probably be when this generation is like 80-90 years old... and that just sucks. we'll sit there in our rocking chairs with hydranaumic suspension watching the mars landing on our 3d hologram video screens... feel free to rate optimistic. [editline]4th August 2011[/editline] also, i don't know what hydranaumic is, but it sounds tech as shit!

When I clicked the thread I expected some obscure bullshit news of the week website, then I saw BBC and was pleasantly surprised

[QUOTE=Beanz;31532938]whenever i think about this kind of stuff it always strikes me how much it sucks to have been born when we were. i mean if we ever leave earth to go to mars it'd probably be when this generation is like 80-90 years old... and that just sucks. we'll sit there in our rocking chairs with hydranaumic suspension watching the mars landing on our 3d hologram video screens... feel free to rate optimistic. [editline]4th August 2011[/editline] also, i don't know what hydranaumic is, but it sounds tech as shit![/QUOTE] I don't really see what's so fascinating about living on another planet? Scientifically it's really cool and fascinating but in reality I don't really see the why it's so amazing. Building a city on Mars would take hundreds of years and then the whole colonization would possibly take another hundred years to accomplish so I won't be here to witness it anyways. I dunno, the idea of people living on different planets is really cool and all, but if I had a choice between Earth and Mars, I would deffinately pick earth.

This article is about 10 years late.. Erosion caused by water was discovered on mars a long time ago.

[QUOTE=Hullu V3;31533059]I don't really see what's so fascinating about living on another planet? Scientifically it's really cool and fascinating but in reality I don't really see the why it's so amazing. Building a city on Mars would take hundreds of years and then the whole colonization would possibly take another hundred years to accomplish so I won't be here to witness it anyways. I dunno, the idea of people living on different planets is really cool and all, but if I had a choice between Earth and Mars, I would deffinately pick earth.[/QUOTE] Well the first thing that would go to mars would be a lander and return pod, after a while a outpost, so in this century with Space X's claim to get humans on Mars, we can see some important things going on in our life times.

Didn't they already make a discovery exactly like this not too long ago?

Lately I've been reading terraforming of mars and reading about mars shit, and I was like "I want them to find something cool about mars right now" and now this happened.

[QUOTE=Rick Ross;31533064]This article is about 10 years late.. Erosion caused by water was discovered on mars a long time ago.[/QUOTE] Yes but this is about possible picture evidence of actual flowing water on Mars right now at this moment.

Absolutely brilliant!

[QUOTE=Hullu V3;31533059]I don't really see what's so fascinating about living on another planet? Scientifically it's really cool and fascinating but in reality I don't really see the why it's so amazing.[/QUOTE] When humanity colonizes Moon, Mars or other planets, there wont be a one-time event (realistic) that can wipe out humanity. I think it would be amazing to see this in our lifetime.

Good thing SpaceX wants to be on Mars in 20 years.

[QUOTE=RichyZ;31533215]this is erosion by saltwater that flows through and on mars this means that there could be rivers and shit connecting oceans instead of just big puddles of water aka bad reading[/QUOTE] Canyons, valleys, streams, and the structures shown in the picture were discovered many years ago. aka bad journalism.

[QUOTE=Rick Ross;31533823]Canyons, valleys, streams, and the structures shown in the picture were discovered many years ago. aka bad journalism.[/QUOTE] The water trails are new

[QUOTE=nask;31533801]When humanity colonizes Moon, Mars or other planets, there wont be a one-time event (realistic) that can wipe out humanity. I think it would be amazing to see this in our lifetime.[/QUOTE] Except a supernova or asteroid shower.

This has inspired me to make a space build map. Based on mars.

[QUOTE=Elfy;31533956]This has inspired me to make a space build map. Based on mars.[/QUOTE] Don't make the distance between earth and mars too short, like the planets in other sb maps