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Question
We know that Mars once had liquid substances flowing over its surface, but why do we think it was water? Could it not have been something else?
Yes, in fact, Australian scientists proposed just last year that a different substance--specifically, liquid carbon dioxide (CO2)--might have been the cause of the geological features seen on Mars by the Global Surveyor. However liquid carbon dioxide, like liquid water, would not be stable on the Martian surface; it would quickly vaporize into the atmosphere. An alternative theory suggests that gaseous CO2, mixed with dust particles, might have acted as a fluid to form the observed features. While we do not yet know what may have caused the flow features on the surface of Mars, finding out is certainly of the highest priority in current and future missions since life as we know it depends on the existence of water.
October 29, 2001
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