The Guardian view on the discovery of liquid water on Mars: cause for great celebration | Editorial
by Editorial from on (#NYKM)
Now the search is on to find living organisms on the red planet. Even traces of primitive microbes would rank among the most important discoveries in history
When ancient explorers set off from home they would follow the water, along rivers and coastlines, from lake to lake. There was little else they could do; for water is unique. The simple combination of hydrogen and oxygen is crucial for life as we know it. Without liquid water, cells fail, and so do those functions that define us.
The US space agency put the same intuition at the heart of its exploration of Mars. On our home planet, where there is water, life is never far away. And it is this that makes Nasa's latest discovery so exciting: that water may flow on Mars today, at least in the warmer months of summer. It is very likely that there is life on the red planet, said one of the scientists on the team.
Continue reading...