Water Located on Mars

It does not sound like news since Mars and water have been discussed for many years, yet in this case the issue is not water in the past but water on the surface today.  This is a very different story.  The new evidence comes from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Here is what NASA has to say:

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.

 What does this mean?  The press release continues:

“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.”

That is key - existing life and future life.  We may want to determine the former before we become the latter.  We are certainly making progress as we poke, observe, and roam the Red Planet. 

Noteworthy Quote: Ancient Water in Your Tap

"Up to half the water on our planet is older than the solar system itself. Ancient water molecules assembled in the chilly confines of a gigantic gas cloud. That cloud spawned our sun and the planets that orbit it — and somehow those ancient water molecules survived the perils of the planetary birth process to end up in our oceans and, presumably, our bodies."

--  Ray Jayawardhana, a professor of physics and astronomy at York University in Toronto, in his New York Times article "Our Cosmic Selves."  He was highlighting the findings in an earlier study in Science, with the summary "The analysis suggests that all nascent planetary systems may have the same water resources that we did."

NASA's Continuing Search for Water Out There

NASA plans to broadcast a program next week to discuss water within and beyond our solar system.  Here is the press release information:

NASA Television will air an event from 1 – 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 7, featuring leading science and engineering experts discussing the recent discoveries of water and organics in our solar system, the role our sun plays in water-loss in neighboring planets, and our search for habitable worlds among the stars.

The event, which is open to the public, will take place in the Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street SW in Washington.
The panel also will highlight the fundamental questions NASA is working to answer through its cutting-edge science research: Where do we come from? Where are we going? Are we alone?
Panel participants include:

• John Grunsfeld, astronaut and Science Mission Directorate associate administrator, NASA Headquarters, Washington
• Ellen Stofan, chief scientist, NASA Headquarters
• James Green, director of Planetary Science, NASA Headquarters
• Jeffrey Newmark, interim director of Heliophysics, NASA Headquarters
• Paul Hertz, director of Astrophysics, NASA Headquarters

 Go here for NASA TV. Hopefully, it will also be shown on the NASA channel on Youtube.