Tipsheet

Mars Likely Has Flowing Liquid Water

Earlier today, NASA announced that there's the "strongest evidence yet" of flowing water on the planet Mars, at least during martian summer. This announcement came following a weekend's worth of teasers by NASA to pique interest in the report.

While frozen water was confirmed on Mars back in 2008, this is the first strong evidence that water on the planet is liquid for at least part of the year.

"Mars just got more interesting," NASA said via Twitter before holding a news conference at its Washington headquarters. The space agency called the results "a major science finding."

Because liquid water is essential to life, the findings could boost the notion of living organisms on Mars. The researchers said in the journal Nature Geoscience that further exploration is warranted to determine whether microscopic life exists on the planet.

The evidence of flowing streams consists of dark, narrow streaks on the surface that tend to appear and grow during the warmest Martian months and fade the rest of the year.

Science is exciting!