Posted on 09/28/2015 8:53:15 AM PDT by lbryce
Right now, 140 million miles away, somewhere on the frigid surface of Mars, there is water forming. Scientists announced they have strong evidence that briny water flows on the planet, a critical step toward identifying possible life on Mars.
“Water is essential to life as we know it,” wrote Lujendra Ojha, Mary Beth Wilhelm, and their co-authors in a paper published Monday in Nature Geoscience. “The presence of liquid water on Mars today has astrobiological, geologic and hydrologic implications and may affect future human exploration.”
If this announcement, which NASA billed as “major” in the days leading up to it, sounds not altogether new, it’s because scientists have been obsessing over the water on Mars for decades. (The sight of ice volcanoes on Pluto this summer had scientists similarly elated.) Astrobiologists have long suspected that Mars was at least partially covered in water at one time—markings on the planet indicate the presence of ancient streambeds. A billion years ago, scientists believe the planet may have had a roiling, primitive ocean.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
They haven't actually discovered flowing water, only "evidence" of possible flowing water. They see changes in the poles where it frosts/freezes and then thaws in the Summer. We've seen the frost, ice and gullies back in the 1970's, so this really isn't anything new.
As far as life goes, we've drilled/ground and analyzed countless rocks and bits of sand (Spirit and Opportunity) and examined them with spectrometers, xrays, microscopes and all sorts of tests, and have yet to find any signs of any past or present organic material at all.
You can't examine any sample of sand on Earth without seeing bits of broken shells or other signs of past life. On Mars, we've seen nothing... zilch.
Yawn.. BFD!
Didn't NASA pull the same stunt for that Jodi Foster film with Bill Clinton in it?
Color me skeptical.
A million times saltier than the Dead Sea ?
I was thinking sulfa water or iron.
Can we send Matt Damon there to verify this?
We spent ninety jillion dollars
Tryin' to get a look at Mars
I hear universal laughter
Ringing out among the stars
- Jimmy Buffett, Fruitcakes
Someday, if and when we’re ever better off. The discovery of life elsewhere would be the greatest of all time.
Right?
I live in Houston, my in-laws on the space coast...we support NASA and always will, but....but....throwing billions around at a time when the middle class is having difficulty making ends meet just seems wasteful.
EPA moves to regulate *
The first probe will put up a banner that reads” Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide!”
Warning: If you go to Mars, don’t drink the water.
Oh, ouch! I can understand why!
The promise of a space age was wasted long ago on "entitlements".
[ Can we send Matt Damon there to verify this? ]
Yes and blow up his return craft on the surface of mars!
Maybe it is Mars that sucked all the water from California.
I did a search for: Mars Bikini Team then clicked on Images.
I looked and looked but alas did not find one.....
Oh I was being silly. I was thinking of the Swedish Bikini team and then thinking if there’s water on Mars, it won’t be long before it’s Spring Break or something like that up there.,
I wonder what lady Martians look like anyway.
LMAO
One of the coolest things in a long while. :-)
Oh gosh, the “Fountains of the Deep” Bible stuff again!!
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