Water Found in Martian Soil

[paranoid marvin]

No big surprise really; if there was no water, why build the canals?

 

[Dave]

No big surprise really; if there was no water, why build the canals?

I hope you are joking and didn't think I was was referring to Percival Lowell's canals. By 'geomorphological features' I meant the large erosional features of giant channels and branching networks of small valleys seen by Mariner and Viking which are clearly made by fast running water.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Yes,a joke. It does fascinate me though that a couple of centuries or so ago, many assumed they were irrigation canals built (presumably) by Martian farmers. I wonder what commonly held beliefs of today will be shown to be wildly inaccurate in the 22nd century?

 

[Ursa major]

The existence of human intelligence...?

 

[jastius]

this a Smithsonian link to an article about the geological properties of martian rock supposedly forming near water.

Curiosity Discovers a New Type of Martian Rock That Likely Formed Near Water | Surprising Science

 

[mosaix]

I wonder what commonly held beliefs of today will be shown to be wildly inaccurate in the 22nd century?

That we landed on the Moon?

Yes, a joke!

 

[ratsy]

Call me when they find a green dude running around the surface

 

[Harpo]

I remember all the hoopla about water being found on the Moon and that has, as of yet, not come to anything.

That was less than four years ago
NASA finds 'significant' water on moon - CNN.com

Are you in a hurry, Bubbles?

 

[Liz Bent]

Finding water is exciting mostly because on Earth, where there is water, you find life (generally). I haven't followed astrobiology of recent years, but I remember about 8 years ago people were looking for water on Mars as evidence that life might have existed there, or may still exist there- and now, of course, the next step is to look for evidence of life. If they find things sufficiently similar to Earthly organisms (say, bacteria containing DNA), it would be hugely significant- this would support the theory of panspermia, which is the idea that life on Earth arose originally from bacterial cells present on comets that collided with the Earth.