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Monday May 18, 2009
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More space news, this time further out into the solar system: the two Mars rovers are still trucking along, but scientists here on Earth are working on a thorny problem related to the red planet.
New research suggests that water may have flowed over Mars' surface in at least one place over the past billion years--relatively "recently," since the planet has been around for about the same 4.5 billion years as our own--giving more credence to the idea that life may have once existed there, according to ScienceNOW. A while back, the rovers confirmed that water covered the surface of Mars about four billion years ago, when it was much warmer. But now that the planet is cooler and drier, we've only found small bits of evidence here and there. That's beginning to change, though.
Using high-resolution images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a group of planetary geologists led by Jay Dickson of Brown University zoomed in on the eastern half of a 7000-meter-deep crater and discovered about "20 winding valleys and a number of deposited materials typically found at the end of rivers," according to the report.
By counting the impact craters nearby, the geologists determined that the surface there is about one billion years old, and that those valleys must have formed around that time. Due to the glaciers buried underneath, this could prove to be a good place to search for life with a later Mars mission, the report said.
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May 19, 2009 12:20 AM
If ever this will be a strong proof the life could really exist on mars.
May 19, 2009 1:17 PM
In my opinion not only were there rivers on Mars but complex civilizations as well. It's my theory that if and when any serious excavations take place on Mars then the Red planets' true secrets will be exposed!
May 19, 2009 1:47 PM
Wow, now that is some really cool stuff dude!
RT
www.privacy-center.de.tc
May 19, 2009 2:58 PM
Hi! I'm an idiot!
May 20, 2009 2:37 AM
I agree with Tim