Last week NASA announced they have enough evidence to substantiate the claim that there is indeed water on our red hued neighbor, Mars.
The evidence used to discern this discovery? Seasonal streaks appear on the surface of the planet in certain areas.
Ideally speaking, actually capturing a sample of the water would provide scientists with the most data, but right now a lot of conjecture is deeming the liquid as hazardous to humans.
That is, without a bit of processing first.
Just like methods used on Earth can remove unwanted substances from the water we drink, a similar method could be devised to allow any water on Mars to reach a potable state.
Basically, NASA says the water on the red planet contains too much of a type of salt.
There are methods of removing salts from water here on our home planet, but they would have to be modified to work on Mars.
What this means to me is that we are one step closer to setting up a colony on Mars, if not on a temporary basis, lending some credence to the plot line in a movie that released over the weekend called “The Martian.”
Naturally it will take some time to develop a feasible option to ensure astronauts living on the surface have enough to drink, but there are several methods already available.
The easiest to employ would be the water recycling techniques currently used by men and women living on the space station.
Typically where there is water, there is life. While NASA is quick to point out that not much can live on or in water containing so much salt, I would say there are stranger things living in much harsher conditions, such as bacteria that thrive in the most toxic of volcanic pools within the Yellowstone National Park.
I have a feeling there will be many other discoveries our exploration of Mars will reveal.