While there may be scattered pockets of liquid water under the surface, if you want copious liquid water on the surface then you need to time travel, back to, oh, say, 3 billion years ago (better warp extra fast around the Sun or bring a few extra banana peels). Back then there was quite a bit of surface water, the evidence of which is still around today. River channels, lake beds, even hints of ocean shorelines… all these imply that back then Mars had a thicker atmosphere and plentiful water.
Video of Mars: Crash Course Astronomy #15
That immediately makes you think it was warm, but hang on. Huge glaciers can have what s called basal melt, where their bases are under pressure and the ice melts, carving channels underneath them as the glaciers flow. So Mars could have been warmer than it is now, but not necessarily been
Mars ressemblait à cette région sur Terre il y a 3,5 milliards d années futura-sciences.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from futura-sciences.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
NGC 613, a barred spiral galaxy 67 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Sculptor, shows its stunning stellar markings in this image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Extraterrestrial hiking - Following the tracks of NASA s Curiosity rover | Christmas Specials economist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from economist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pictures from space! Our image of the day msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.