Salty, liquid water has been detected on a leg of the Mars Phoenix Lander and therefore could be present at other locations on the planet, according to analysis by a group of mission scientists led by a University of Michigan professor. This is the first time liquid water has been detected and photographed outside Earth.
"A large number of independent physical and thermo dynamical evidence shows that saline water may actually be common on Mars," said Nilton Renno, a professor at the University of Michigan, Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, and a co-investigator on the Phoenix mission.
Liquid water is an essential ingredient for life. This discovery has important implications to many areas of planetary exploration, including the habitability of Mars."
