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More evidence of flowing water on Mars

Small gullies can be seen on the slopes of some of the peaks to the upper left of the picture	Wide angle view of the depicted area in close-up.

        New images taken from space show further evidence of gullies on the surface of Mars that may have been carved by water. The pictures reveal channels in the peaks of sand dunes within one of the planet's southern craters. The pictures come from Nasa's Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, which is currently in orbit around the Red Planet. 

        Earlier this year, scientists at the US space agency and Malin Space Science Systems, who operate MGS, presented photographic evidence pointing towards the presence of recent, running water on Mars. "Recent" in this sense means within the last two million years. 

The announcement, which ran
counter to prevailing theories
about the presence of water on the Red Planet, caused a sensation.
The "discovery" gave fresh impetus to Nasa exploration plans that
were under threat at the time because of the loss of two probes. 

Hale crater 

The new pictures are of the 136-kilometre- (85-mile-) wide Hale crater in the planet's southern hemisphere. 

The Mars Global Surveyor made the observations on 10 November. The top of the picture shows peaks up to 630 metres (2,070 feet) above the crater floor.

Small gullies can be seen on the slopes of some of the largest peaks. Nasa scientists believe these channels may have been carved by running water. 

The new pictures add to a growing body of evidence gleaned by the MGS which suggests that water could exist in a porous layer of rock buried just below the Martian surface. 

If liquid water does still flow on
Mars, and some experts remain
sceptical, the planet's southern
hemisphere would be a good
place to look. More than 90% of
the gullies are located there, in the
cooler areas away from sunlight. 

Martian autumn 

Winter in the Martian southern
hemisphere begins in
mid-December. Over the next
few months, Nasa scientists will
examine closely new pictures of
the planet in an attempt to bolster
their evidence. 

Liquid water is the key ingredient
for supporting life. If the
discovery were confirmed, it
would have profound implications for the chance of finding
existing, microbial extra-terrestrial life. 

But some experts are cautious about the findings. It had been
thought that water on Mars was in the form of ice below the
surface and unlikely to run free on the surface. 

Mars enthusiasts will be awaiting eagerly the opportunity, in the
next few years, to place a lander on the surface of the planet in an
attempt to resolve the question one way or the other. 

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