What are the signs of water on Mars?

(Dan Tri) - Mysterious black streaks on Mars are still considered signs of water, raising hope that the Red Planet has or has had life. New research has come to a surprising conclusion.

Curiosity rover on mission on Mars (Photo: NASA).

For many years, dark streaks running along the slopes of cliffs and craters on Mars have attracted special attention from scientists .

These streaks, called recurring slope and slope lineaments (RSLs), were once considered evidence of the presence of liquid water, raising hopes of the possibility of life on the planet – now or in the past.

However, new research by scientists from Brown University (USA) and the University of Bern (Switzerland) has shaken that hypothesis. By using artificial intelligence to analyze more than 86,000 high-resolution satellite images of the Martian surface, the research team came to a different discovery.

The results published in the journal Nature Communications show that it is not water but wind and dust that create these mysterious black streaks.

The AI ​​algorithm was trained to recognize the slope streaks, then compared their locations with environmental data such as wind speed, temperature, and dust distribution patterns. The team found no correlation between the streaks and humidity, frost, or any obvious signs of water.

Instead, dark streaks are more common in areas with strong winds and intense dust activity, suggesting that the phenomenon may be caused by dust layers being pushed by wind or external factors, causing them to slide down arid slopes.

If these streaks are indeed traces of flowing water, NASA will be forced to avoid sending probes here to prevent the risk of bacteria from Earth entering and contaminating the environment that could contain life.

But with the new findings, exploration in these areas could proceed more freely without raising concerns about biological risks.

While the study does not completely rule out the possibility of water elsewhere on Mars, it does help scientists narrow down their search.

Not every anomaly on Mars’ surface is a sign of water. Studies like this are important in determining where and how to look for life.

In the quest to conquer the universe, eliminating false possibilities is as valuable as confirming them, especially as humans continue to search for traces of life on the Red Planet.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/dau-hieu-cua-nuoc-tren-sao-hoa-thuc-chat-la-gi-20250602022516189.htm