Ancient river bed on Mars?

[Peter1469]

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/01/18/european-space-agency-discovers-striking-ancient-river-on-mars

If true, that is a massive river:

The European Space Agency announced Thursday that it has taken high-definition pictures of an ancient river nearly 1,000 miles long on Mars.


According to the report, the "striking" river also has "numerous tributaries" and is believed to be more than 4 miles wide and nearly 1,000 feet deep at some points. The agency believes that the river was carved by water between 1.8 and 3.5 billion years ago and went dry due to evaporation.

The Mississippi River is 1 mile wide at near New Orleans. Not sure how deep it is but probably not even 100 feet.

[Chris]

Saw that, amazing. Deep river implies fast current. Old Man River runs pretty slow.

It won't be long before they find sings of life. Perhaps existing now.

[Alif Qadr]

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/01/18/european-space-agency-discovers-striking-ancient-river-on-mars

If true, that is a massive river:

The European Space Agency announced Thursday that it has taken high-definition pictures of an ancient river nearly 1,000 miles long on Mars.


According to the report, the "striking" river also has "numerous tributaries" and is believed to be more than 4 miles wide and nearly 1,000 feet deep at some points. The agency believes that the river was carved by water between 1.8 and 3.5 billion years ago and went dry due to evaporation.

The Mississippi River is 1 mile wide at near New Orleans. Not sure how deep it is but probably not even 100 feet.

Yes Mars has water and I will leave it at that.

[Peter1469]

There is likely some water in ice form at the poles. And perhaps water underground.

[Captain Obvious]

There is likely some water in ice form at the poles. And perhaps water underground.

They've confirmed ice water at the poles, it's the underground water that needs further study.

[waltky]

Water on Mars?...
:huh:
Scientists Discover What Appears to be Water Beneath the Surface of Mars
July 25, 2018 — Scientists announced Wednesday they had discovered what appears to be a body of salty, liquid water beneath the surface of Mars, raising the possibility of detecting life on the Red Planet.



The reservoir, spanning about 20 kilometers in diameter under ice on the planet's southern pole, was found through a radar instrument on the Mars Express Orbiter, which was launched in 2003. Researchers previously discovered signs that water once flowed on Mars. “It’s tempting to think that this is the first candidate place where life could persist [on Mars],” said Roberto Orosei, a professor with the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. He led the research published in the journal Science. He also said Mars may contain hidden bodies of water that have yet to be discovered.



https://gdb.voanews.com/9B25A9EB-95BF-4005-85DD-8A06CFB10D76_w1023_r1_s.jpg
This image provided by the ESA/INAF shows an artist's rendering of the Mars Express spacecraft probing the southern hemisphere of Mars. At upper right is the planet's southern ice cap. The inset image at lower right shows the area where radar readings were made. The blue triangle indicates an area of very high reflectivity, interpreted as being caused by the presence of a reservoir of water, about a mile below the surface.



Orosei said the size of the reservoir "really qualifies this as a body of water," like a lake, and not like "some kind of melt water filling some space between rock and ice." The scientists say the discovery gives them a roadmap to potentially finding life under the surface. "We are not closer to actually detecting life," said Dr. Manish Patel, an astrobiologist at Britain's Open University, in comments published by the BBC. "What this finding does is give us the location of where to look on Mars. It is like a treasure map - except in this case, there will be lots of 'X's marking the spots."


Mars is cold, barren and dry, but used to be warm and wet. The researchers say the water in the lake might have been kept from freezing due to a high concentration of salt. One scientist who was not involved with the study said microorganisms have been able to survive in similar conditions on Earth.


https://www.voanews.com/a/water-is-buried-beneath-martian-landscape-study-says/4499183.html

[Beevee]

We are quite incompetent at keeping this planet from destroying itself.
What's the point of racing to be the first to colonised Mars when humans don't have the intelligence to prevent the destruction of that planet as well?