Has flowing water been spotted on Mars?
Dark streaks that hint at seasonally flowing water have been spotted near the equator of Mars1.
The potentially habitable oases are enticing targets for research. But
spacecraft will probably have to steer clear of them unless the craft
are carefully sterilized — a costly safeguard against interplanetary
contamination that may rule out the sites for exploration.
River-like valleys attest to the flow of water on ancient Mars, but
today the planet is dry and has an atmosphere that is too thin to
support liquid water on the surface for long. However, intriguing clues
suggest that water may still run across the surface from time to time.
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