There used to be water on Mars. The Mars Rover found convincing evidence that water once flowed on the red planet. The news comes just a week after the Mars Curiosity was launched to the red planet in search of alien life.

Space.com reports that the Opportunity rover, which landed on Mars 8-years ago, recently discovered gypsum along the rim of huge crater called Endeavour. Scientists believe tha the mineral was deposited by liquid water billions of years ago.

Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Opportunity’s principal investigator, said:

“This is the single most powerful piece of evidence for liquid water at Mars that has been discovered by the Opportunity rover.”

Opportunity, and another rover called Spirit, landed on Mars in January 2004. The mission was supposed to last a few months but both machines have exceeded expectations. The Spirit was declared dead this year but the Opportunity is still making important discoveries.

Squyres said:

“There was a fracture in the rock, water flowed through it, gypsum was precipitated from the water. End of story. There’s no ambiguity about this, and this is what makes it so cool.”

Space Today reports that many scientists believe that Mars was once full of rivers, lakes, and even oceans. Previous probes have photographed sections of Mars that looked like dry river beds, and gypsum was previously discovered by a Russian probe. But this is the first time that a probe was able to examine a gypsum deposit at close range.

Do you think the Mars Curiosity will find evidence of alien life when it lands on Mars?

Evidence of Water On Mars Found by Opportunity Rover is a post from: The Inquisitr

At a little after 10:00 this morning, the Mars Curiosity Rover launched from Cape Canaveral on an 8 1/2 month journey to the red planet. NASA is hoping that the Curiosity will be able to find evidence that life once existed on Mars.

CBS News reports that an unmanned Atlas V rocket launched the Mars Curiosity Rover, officially known as Mars Science Laboratory, into space this morning. The Curiosity is ten feet long, 9 feet wide, 7 feet tall and weighs more than a ton. It has 6 wheels and can climb over obstacles as tall as two feet. It is also equipped with a laser that can blast rocks from more than 20 feet away.

Doug McCuistion, director of NASA’s Mars program, told the Chicago Tribune:

“It’s not your father’s rover. It’s truly … the largest and most complex piece of equipment ever placed on the surface of another planet.”

Here’s a video of the historic launch.

The Mars Curiosity Rover’s main mission is to uncover evidence that Mars once supported microbial life. The Curiosity is equipped with several instruments and measuring devices to collect and analyze Mars rocks in the hope of finding “organic compounds.” Curiosity will start its search for extraterrestrial life at a massive crater, called Gale crater, near Mars’ equator.

Gale Crater has a three-mile high mountain at the center of it. NASA believes that the crater may have once been filled with water since the rock face is striated in layers.

Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said:

“The crowning achievement … is to drill into rocks and capture material from the insides of rocks, which we’ve never done on Mars, and that’s really where the science will come from.”

The Mars Curiosity Rover is expected to land on the red planet next August. If everything goes to plan, this is what the Mars Curiosity Mission should look like.

Do you think the Curiosity will find life on Mars?

Mars Curiosity Rover Starts Search for Alien Life [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

NASA officials on Saturday will launch what they are calling “a Mars scientist’s dream machine,” a new Mars Rover that is the largest-ever created.

According to the rover’s lead developer:

It’s not just big—it’s “the largest and most complex piece of equipment ever placed on the surface of another planet.”

The new device is 7-feet high and has been nicknamed Curiosity. 

The new space exploration tool features a jackhammer and laser arm which will be used to break through Mars’ various rocks as it probes Martian soil.

With a price tag of $2.5 million the craft is meant to be used in an attempt to finally determine if Mars was ever capable of sustaining life. The rover will work off recent findings that the planet contains methane.

Speaking to Space.com one expert noted:

“I like to say it’s extraterrestrial real estate appraisal.”

The Mars Science Laboratory as it’s officially known will land on Mars with the help of a specialized crane system that scientists hope can one day be used to land humans on the Red planet.

Do you think the $2.5 billion price tag for the Mars Rover is money well spent or should the U.S. Government be focusing on projects that are closer to home?

NASA Prepares To Launch Largest Mars Rover Ever Created is a post from: The Inquisitr

Scott Maxwell of JPL and the driver of the Mars Rovers presented at Gnomedex this afternoon, and managed what I’m told is only the second standing ovation in the history of Gnomedex.

I haven’t checked the video for quality, but put simply space has a spokesman, and let loose on kiddies and adults alike, Maxwell could inspire an entire new generation to dream of space.

Space has a spokesman: Scott Maxwell is a post from: The Inquisitr