NASA photographs have revealed bright new deposits seen in two gullies on Mars that suggest water carried sediment through them sometime during the past seven years.
"These observations give the strongest evidence to date that water still flows occasionally on the surface of Mars" - Dr. Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program, Washington.
Nasa says it has found "compelling" evidence that liquid water flowed recently on the surface of Mars. The finding adds further weight to the idea that Mars might harbour the right conditions for life. The appearance of gullies, revealed in orbital images from a Nasa probe, suggests that water could have flowed on the surface in the last few years.
Images from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has shown that 5 - 10 swimming pools worth of liquid water flowed on the surface of a small crater on Mars in the last seven years, and the spacecraft also spotted a very new impact crater.
NASA is expected to make a major announcement Wednesday regarding a "significant find" on Mars. NASA said the finding was a result of the Mars Global Surveyor mission. According to Aviation Week and Space Technology, the space agency will talk about the discovery of "flowing water" on the surface of the Red Planet.
NASA Schedules Briefing to Announce Significant Find on Mars WASHINGTON - NASA hosts a news briefing at 1 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Dec. 6, to present new science results from the Mars Global Surveyor. The briefing will take place in the NASA Headquarters auditorium located at 300 E Street, S.W. in Washington and carried live on NASA Television and www.nasa.gov. The agency last week announced the spacecraft's mission may be at its end. Mars Global Surveyor has served the longest and been the most productive of any spacecraft ever sent to the red planet. Data gathered from the mission will continue to be analysed by scientists.
Panelists include: - Michael Meyer -- Lead Scientist, Mars Exploration Program, NASA Headquarters, Washington - Michael Malin -- President and Chief Scientist, Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. - Kenneth Edgett -- Scientist, Malin Space Science Systems - Philip Christensen -- Professor, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona