Scientists sure water is flowing on Mars, seek to prove it with rover

NASA Curiosity mission to be extended to search for water.

Scientists want to take a closer look at mysterious features that suggest water flows on Mars. If water flows on the surface of Mars, then life could flourish there. All life as we know it depends on liquid water.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Scientists have asked to extend the Curiosity mission. They hope to use the rover to study dark streaks on the surface. Scientists think liquid water is creating the streaks. The streaks fade in the winter, but darken in the summer. The melting of ice and flow of water explain them. But the discovery still needs confirmation.

Liquid water is essential to all life as we know it. If liquid water flows on the surface of Mars, then life may be there as well.

Scientists know that Mars was once rich in water, which flowed across the surface. Water on Mars carved great valleys and channels which are still visible today.

Mars is a small planet, so its gravity is less than Earth's. That lack of gravity means the atmosphere and water can sublimate into space. By this means, over billions of years, Mars has become a dry, cold place. The air is so thin, that even when it blows with gale force, a person on the surface would only feel a light breeze.

Radiation from the sun and the cold, dry climate means life might not be able to live at the surface. But life could still live, in microbial form, just beneath the surface. Microbes may flourish under the moist dirt where harmful solar radiation cannot reach.

If scientists find life on Mars, it will prove that life is more abundant and hardy that previously believed.

If the search turns up empty, it will suggest that life may be more rare and fragile.

The Curiosity Rover is near the Martian equator, in the Valles Marineris region. The rover is close to these dark streaks, known as "recurring slope lineae" (RSL).

Even if scientists do not find life, if they find water, it will have ramifications for humans. Astronaut colonists will need liquid water to survive on Mars. They will likely settle in a place that has a lot of liquid water or ice.

Scientists expect to be able to drive the rover to within a mile of the nearest dark streak (RSL). They hope that will be close enough to determine if water is causing them. The rover cannot get much closer because the terrain where these streaks are is soft and sloped. They also do not want to risk contaminating the Martian soil with microbes from Earth that could have hitched a ride from Earth.

Future missions are needed to confirm the presence of water.

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