NASA will today unveil a ‘major scientific finding’ from its Mars exploration programme, fuelling speculation it could have found water flowing on the Red Planet.
The space agency has called a press conference in Washington promising to announce ‘Mars Mystery Solved’.
Watch the announcement live at 5:30pm (SAST).
While many are hoping Nasa will announce that it has found alien life, the leading theory appears to be that it will say it has discovered the presence of liquid water.
This would greatly boost the odds of the existence of Martians – even if they come in the shape of bacteria, rather than little green men. A ready source of water would also be a huge boon for any future human settlements on the planet.
Although vast amounts of ice have been detected beneath the surface of Mars, definitive proof of flowing water has remained elusive.
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Nasa is remaining tight-lipped, but one of its speakers today is Lujendra Ojha, a planetary scientist, who suggested that salt water flows on the planet during its warmer months.
Cynics have pointed out, however, that Nasa is making the announcement following speculation that funding for its Mars Curiosity Rover will be cut and in the week that a Hollywood film The Martian, starring Matt Damon, is released.