FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NSS HAILS DISCOVERY OF AN ANCIENT SALTY SEA ON MARSFinding Strengthens Case for Large Amounts of Ground Water on Mars Today - Makes Future Human Mars Missions Much Easier
WASHINGTON, DC - National Space Society Executive Director George Whitesides issued the following statement on the discovery that "a salty sea" once existed near the Equator of Mars at the Meridiani Planum landing site. This second major water-related discovery within a month was made by the Mars Rover Teams at the same Opportunity rover landing site.
The discovery was made by the identification of cross-bedding of fine sediment layers in the rocks, producing a distinct and unique visual pattern formed in the presence of gently moving water. This provides strong evidence that the rocks were deposited in surface water, not by underground water. Last week the Mars "Blueberrys" were found to be made of hematite, which forms in water. The "rocks" themselves are actually very similar to dry lake-bed deposits such as those at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The presence of an ancient sea of unknown size implies that other minerals dissolved in the ground water, containing elements which will be very useful to humans in the future.
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The National Space Society (NSS) is an independent,
international, educational, grassroots nonprofit organization
dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization. The NSS
has more than 22,000 members, and 50 chapters in the United States,
Canada, Mexico, Australia, Germany, Ireland, and the United
Kingdom. The NSS, founded in 1974, is widely acknowledged as the
preeminent citizen's voice on space.