Watch: Where does liquid water on Mars come from?
Updated on Sep 29, 2015 06:27 PM IST
NASA has confirmed that there is liquid water flowing on Mars, which is a potential breakthrough in the quest to search for life beyond Earth. According to NASA scientists, liquid water runs down canyons and crater walls on Mars, leaving dark stains in the terrain. These stains, known as the recurring slope lineae — or RSL — occur when temperatures rise above -10 Fahrenheit. The stains disappear during the cold season. It remains to be seen whether this discovery will prove that life exists on Mars. NASA researchers will now focus on where the water comes from, whether it be deliquescence, from melted frozen water during the summer, or caused by concentrated saline aquifers in the forms of saturated gritty rocks on the Mars' surface.