Water 'widespread' on early Mars

[n2doc]

In Mars' Nili Fossae, clays are concentrated on slopes and along canyon walls

Water was once widespread on Mars, data from a Nasa spacecraft shows, raising the prospect that the Red Planet could have supported life.
Researchers found evidence of vast lakes, flowing rivers and deltas on early Mars, all of which were potential habitats for microbes.
They also discovered that wet conditions probably persisted for a long time on the Red Planet.

Details appear in the journals Nature and Nature Geoscience.


One study shows that vast regions of Mars' ancient highlands, which cover about half the planet, contain clay minerals - which can form only in the presence of water.
Volcanic lavas buried the clay-rich regions during subsequent, drier periods of the planet's history, but impact craters later exposed them at thousands of locations across Mars.

more:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7511523.stm

[tinrobot]

1. The evidence keeps piling up....

We'll definitely find evidence of past life if we look hard enough.

If we dig deep enough, I suspect we'll find that life is still there.