mindblowingscience :
We finally have a firm answer to one of the biggest mysteries of Mars. Not only did the Red Planet have water in the past, but it has it right now, flowing in a briny mix that keeps it from freezing. This confirms decades of observations.
In an article published in Nature Geoscience , a team lead by Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology confirms that seasonal flows in mountainous regions of the planet correspond with the presence of briny water. The seasonal flows were first noticed in 2010, with water the strongest suspect. Spectral observations of season data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate the presence of hydrated salts on the surface, or water mixing with a thick brine of salts.
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