Water on Mars? New Mars Orbiter Images
Is there, or was there once, water on Mars? This is a distinct possibility according to NASA, who have recently released some new pictures from their Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) satellite that is currently orbiting Mars, sending back information & pictures since it arrived there in March 2006. 
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has the most powerful camera ever sent to Mars, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, which is providing us with some amazing new images.
The new pictures show gulleys cut into the rocks around craters, and what are thought to be ancient stream beds. Scientists are pretty sure that these were carved by liquid water flowing over the rocky surface as it does on Earth, but they still are not sure where the water came from. The white patches on the mountain tops are frost, probably frozen carbon dioxide - but possibly could be water, or a mix of the two.
The martian gulleys shown in the MRO pictures look a bit similar to the terrain in Afghanistan, I took this picture out of the plane window when flying over the country between SE Asia and the UK - and I think it looks quite like the new images of Mars, even has snow/frost on the mountain tops.The scientists say that the ancient gulleys and stream beds were probably formed in the last few million years, they are working with the new pictures to try and figure out how and why. 
In one new picture from the orbiter (right), stream beds can be seen rising higher than the surrounding surface - this is because the ancient rock that the water flowed over is more resistant to erosion. While the surrounding rock has been worn down by the atmosphere over the years the stream beds appear raised above the surface, snaking their way over the martian terrain.The MRO's amazing high resolution HiRISE images have also found a few of the landing sites & rovers of previous exploratory missions to Mars, including Pathfinder. Related Links: NASA: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter New Scientist: Stunning snaps from best camera ever sent to Mars Email this story to a friend  Add this link to:            
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