Overview
Scientists have recently announced that there is evidence of water on Mars. Salty water appears to flow down steep slopes during the warmer months, and frozen ice caps and underground slabs of ice seem to melt. However, direct exploration of those fragile features carries risk of contamination.
Streaks of Salty Water
As recently as September and October 2015, scientists announced they found dark streaks flowing down rocky slopes on Mars. These dark streaks, called RSL, appear during the summer months, and fade for most of the Martian year. They seem to consist of briny water, according to spectral analysis. Water has a lower freezing point when it is saturated with mineral salts, and so could remain liquid to -70 degrees Celsius.
Ice Caps
Although the polar ice caps on Mars are primarily made of frozen carbon dioxide, the northern pole also contains a water ice cap underneath the CO2. The polar ice caps on Mars build up in layers, as the carbon dioxide sublimates into the thin atmosphere, evaporating directly into carbon dioxide gas from carbon dioxide ice. Radar measurements from satellites show a deep canyon cut by constant winds that blow across the poles. The canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon on Earth.
Underground Ice
Scientists have also reported evidence of underground ice at other locations on Mars, such as underneath terraced craters. Those unusual terraced craters are thought to have formed when layers of different types of materials, including ice, are impacted by cosmic debris. Radar aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a possible slab of ice 40 meters thick, lying underneath a layer of dust.
Exploration
Most of the exploration of water features on Mars has been conducted by radar images from satellites such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Mars rovers such as Curiosity could contaminate critical areas by introducing any Earth microbes that still exist on drill bits and other surfaces. The rover could tip over on the uneven, steep slopes that contain RSL streaks, especially if the surface is unstable. Right now, closer exploration is postponed to future missions to Mars.
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