Might water still be on the surface of Mars?

[no1_vern]

Briny water may be at work in seasonal flows on Mars

Dark, finger-like features that appear and extend down some Martian slopes during the warmest months of the Mars year may show activity of salty water on Mars. They fade in winter, then recur the next spring.

Repeated observations by the HiRISE camera currently orbiting Mars aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have tracked seasonal changes in these recurring features on several steep slopes in middle latitudes of Mars' southern hemisphere. Some aspects of the observations still puzzle researchers.

“The best explanation we have for these observations so far is flow of briny water, although this study does not prove that,” said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. McEwen is the principal investigator for the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) and the lead author of a report about the recurring flows published on August 5 by the journal Science.

Other explanations remain possible, but flows of liquid brine fit the features' characteristics better than alternative hypotheses. Saltiness lowers the temperature at which water freezes. Some sites with the dark flows get warm enough to keep water liquid if it is about as salty as Earth's oceans, but temperatures in those areas would not melt pure water ice. Sites with liquid brines could be important to future studies of whether life exists on Mars and to understanding the history of water.

NOT definitive proof of water, but mighty close. Maybe . . .

[tony_j15]

I don't even bother paying attention to this stuff anymore. It seems every year they find some evidence that water does or did exist here there somewhere somewhen. The amount of hyperbole and speculation attached is ridiculous.

[Epidemic]

mars has very low atmospheric pressure. Wouldn't water tend sublimate and ultimately be scraped away by the solar wind.

[Smidley]

Wouldn't the salt increase the water's enthalpy of vaporization?

[pickel]

I don't even bother paying attention to this stuff anymore. It seems every year they find some evidence that water does or did exist here there somewhere somewhen. The amount of hyperbole and speculation attached is ridiculous.

The Russians ,now the Leaders in Space Exploration, are going to get there first anywho. I wouldn't waste a glass of Johnie Walker GOLD mixed with some stale ass Martian water.

[osprey4]

So can you surf on Mars? That's the important question.

[pickel]

So can you surf on Mars? That's the important question.

Surfline | RED TIDE

[Bill in SD, CA]

So can you surf on Mars? That's the important question.

So, you can surf in Jersey?

Bill

[Mojo Risin']

The Russians ,now the Leaders in Space Exploration, are going to get there first anywho. I wouldn't waste a glass of Johnie Walker GOLD mixed with some stale ass Martian water.

During the 2008 primary and election debates, BHO consistently espoused that he did not see much value in NASA's mission and that he would not proliferate Space (thus causing JFK to then turn over several times in his grave). He felt that society could be better served by spending revenue in other areas, such as major city, FTU run, dismally failing public schools. After the Augustine commission, he basically emasculated NASA to an agency, which would perform near Earth orbit environmental tasks via satellite, health and science experiments on board station, and develop a Muslim outreach program to Mideast nations. Deep space manned exploration vehicles would be left up to commercial/private industry to develop. However, when it comes to manned spaceflight vehicles, the private development, commercial industry is probably about 20 to 25 years behind, primarily due to all the safety intricacies required. Dang, what a visionary he is. NOT! So now, we are dependent upon Russia, Europe and Japan to hoist certain payloads beyond that of a satellite. Nothing better than going from first to worst. What part of American leadership don't we understand?

Mars' Polar Ice Caps appear to be a geo thermal atmospheric phenomenon. However, life as we know it requires water to exist. In the context of science, scientists wonder if life once existed on Mars. Yes, the Mars Lander and first Mars Orbiter failed. However, the Mars Rovers exceeded all expectations. Lessons learned and data will take you to the next level. If you never failed, you never really tried. Congress hasn't passed a budget in 2 years. Therefore, NASA for all intents and purposes is riding out previously approved and funded projects and sitting in Limbo on future endeavors. Will BHO and Congress try to take us to that next level? I doubt it. It takes leadership to do that.

[pickel]

Will BHO and Congress try to take us to that next level? I doubt it. It takes leadership to do that.

Next Level, HAAAAAA

When we're in the BILGE and the water is coming mighty fast BHO and ALL his cronnies couldn't bail you out if his ARSE depended on it!!!!!

[Beemer]

How did the shuttle program do on achieving cost targets and total mission goals over the years?

[tony_j15]

What part of American leadership don't we understand?

What part don't you understand. NASA has always been a bloated, inefficient agency. While they have given us many clues in to the origins of life, we must ask ourselves, "what is more important?". The education and well-being of our citizens? Or studying rocks billions of miles away to see if bacteria grows on it?
Consider this: 90% of the ocean is unmapped. We know the oceans hold vast mineral and oil reserves, as well as un-tapped biomedical applications from the numerous deep water species which are mostly unstudied.
So what is more important? IMO, the obvious answer is studying the earth and providing for its people, so that everyone has access to food, water, and healthcare. Or, perhaps shooting fireworks into space is more important, so that a few scientists can scream about a soil sample result and a few textbooks have a paragraph added.