Water At Mars?

One of the greatest discoveries areas in the past years the existence of water on the planet Mars. As NASA scientists started serious exploration of Mars years, they discovered the ice in the polar caps planet. But recent studies have led them to believe Mars had large oceans, flash floods and could possibly still water under the earth.

On the basis of high-resolution images from the Mars orbital camera, the Mars Global Surveyor, researchers have found gullies that were apparently by running water not too long ago. These photos have many questions, including how did water exist on Mars.

Liquid water can not currently exist on Mars, because the average temperature is 60 degrees. Exists in the form of water ice in the polar regions, and Mars' thin atmosphere contains water vapour. Also, photos sent missions from the past have shown evidence of frost on the planet surface. The reason why there is so much interest in the red planet is water, because they could prove that life once existed or could exist if there is a source of water.

The scientists believe there was plenty of water long ago on the basis of the massive migration channels that are available. They compare the intensity of floods as high as 10000 times as strong as the Mississippi River pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. The scientists do not know what caused the floods, or when the water went. They firmly believe that Mars may have geological cycles, where a heating cycle of the release of groundwater to form oceans, then dissolves the water back into the crust of the planet and then refreezes.

Another problem, scientists have discovered a dozen pictures of location around the equator of the planet region. The photographs detail signs of water seeping from the walls of valleys and craters, the smaller gullies. Scientists can not agree, as long ago occurred, some say, 10 years old, others say, 10 million years ago.

The researchers also discovered that there was no indication of carbonates in Martian rocks. It is a mineral, which, if liquid water reacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, another mystery for scientists to solve.

In 2001, NASA will send a new orbiter to Mars, including a higher resolution spectrometer to search for carbonates. In 2003, NASA will send two rovers on Mars to hunt for water signatures in rocks and soil on the surface.