Mars Mission
01- Canals
02- Mariners
03- Riverbeds
04- Sub-surface Ice
05- Fleet
06- Martian Ice
07- Slope Streaks
08- Water Found
09- Phyllocian Era
10- Theikian Era
11- Siderikan Era
12- Martian Regions
13- Obliquity
14- Martian Tectonics
15- Topographic Morph
16- Crustal Magnetism
17- Original Impact
18- Polar Regions
19- Hydrated Minerals
20- Theikian Warming
21- New Phoenix Snow
22- Equatorial Glaciers
23- Ancient Ice
24- Continental Snow Drift

8 - Water Found

Sunset at Gusev Crater

 

In 2002 Mars Odyssey's planet wide survey had found hydrogen rich soil near the Martain poles. The only plausible way of storing hydrogen in the quantities that the data suggested is as underground water-ice.

Over Christmas of 2003, the orbiters were joined by an array of international landers and rovers - 'Spirit', 'Opportunity' and 'Beagle 2'. In May 2004, the Opportunity rover found the first direct evidence, in the layered rock sediments, that liquid water once existed at Endurance Crater, enough water to have sustained life as we know it. Later it's ‘twin’ rover ‘'Spirit' found minerals in the rocky basin of Gusev Crater which can only form in the presence of liquid water.

   
  Alan Lambert © 2009