Evidence of salt water found on Mars, scientists say

September 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revealed sub-surface water ice that may be 99 percent pure, halfway between the North Pole and the equator on the Red Planet. "We knew there was ice below the surface at high latitudes of Mars, but we find that it extends far closer to the equator than you would think, based on Mars' climate today," said Shane Byrne of the University of Arizona, a member of the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, which runs the high-resolution camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

August 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have found evidence on the Martian terrain that points towards a recent ice age on the Red Planet. The research, by Samuel C.

August 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists, using images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, have reported direct evidence of lake shorelines in the Shalbatana Vallis in Mars. Scientists generally believe that warm, wet conditions existed on Mars until only about 3.7 billion years ago.

August 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An international team of researchers from China and the US has determined that a process that cleans wastewater and generates electricity can also remove 90 percent of salt from brackish water or seawater. Clean water for drinking, washing and industrial uses is a scarce resource in some parts of the world.

July 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have found that the surface of Mars was molten for more than 100 million years after it formed, preventing any early life evolving on the planet. According to a report in Discovery News, the findings are based on an analysis of rare Martian meteorites at NASA's Johnson Space Center in the US.

July 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A study has determined that snow and ice trapped inside dunes on Mars does not entirely stop their movement, a finding which indicates that other factors are limiting the dune movement. Planetary scientists have monitored some Martian sand dunes for more than 30 years, and the dunes have not moved during that time, leading scientists to question whether snow and ice trapped inside the dunes might be preventing movement.

July 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Parts of Mars resemble places on Earth, including its landscape, history of water, soil and even its weather, says a study. Mark Lemmon, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, long involved with Mars missions, says last year's Phoenix Mars Lander mission keeps revealing secrets about the planet, answering some questions but raising other big ones.

July 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has determined that many characteristics of Mars are quite similar to planet Earth, including its landscape, history of water, soil and even its weather. The research, by Mark Lemmon, a professor of atmospheric sciences, Texas A and M University, US, points out that last year's Phoenix Mars Lander mission keeps revealing secrets about the planet, answering some questions but raising other big ones.

June 20th, 2009 Washington, June 20 (ANI): Scientists have found evidence of the remnants of an ancient lake nestled in a valley near the Martian equator, which may have held as much water as Lake Champlain. According to a report in Disocvery News, the evidence was found by Gaetano di Achille and a team of researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder, US, in the form of an ancient shoreline ringing Shalbatana Vallis, a gash in Mars' surface just east of the massive volcanic province, Tharsis Rise.

June 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder research team has discovered the first definitive evidence of shorelines on Mars, an indication of a deep, ancient lake there and a finding with implications for the discovery of past life on the Red Planet. Estimated to be more than 3 billion years old, the lake appears to have covered as much as 80 square miles and was up to 1,500 feet deep, according to CU-Boulder Research Associate Gaetano Di Achille, who led the study.

June 18th, 2009 New images show evidence of ancient Martian lakeLOS ANGELES — New images suggest Mars had a sizable lake on its surface billions of years ago, further evidence that the planet had a watery past. Images snapped by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal a 30-mile-long canyon where researchers believe water once flowed and apparent beach remnants surrounding a basin.

May 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has indicated that rivers might have flowed recently on the planet Mars. The study has found some serious valleys carved by rivers within the last billion years, which is much sooner than most similar findings.

May 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has reported evidence of young and vast river valleys on Mars, which date back to 1.8 billion years. Most river valley systems on Mars existed only during the early history of the planet, before a major climate transition to colder, drier conditions.

March 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new analysis by a group of mission scientists has determined that salty, liquid water has been detected on a leg of the Mars Phoenix Lander and therefore could be present at other locations on the Red Planet. This is the first time liquid water has been detected and photographed outside the Earth.

January 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of NASA scientists has found proof of the existence of methane gas on Mars, raising questions about the possibility of life on the red planet, the US space agency said Thursday. In an article published in the journal Science, researchers said they found seasonal variations in methane in the planet's atmosphere that could be evidence of geological or biological processes.