Cause of mysterious dark streaks on Mars found

[SOUL-DRIFTER]

Interesting finding, but not surprising.

Development of RSL features at Palikir crater on Mars as viewed by the HiRISE camera on six occasions.
(Image: © NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

Evidence of landslides on Mars may also raise the prospects that the Red Planet was once hospitable to life.


A new study, published Feb. 3 in the journal Science Advances, found that melting ice is combining with the Red Planet's salty subsurface permafrost, resulting in a chemical reaction that creates a "liquid-like flowing slush." Scientists think this slush causes landslides that leave dark, narrow lines known as recurring slope lineae (RSL) on the Martian surface. While the icy slush is currently too salty to harbor life, that may not have been the case 2 billion to 3 billion years ago, the study's lead author Janice Bishop, a senior research scientist at the SETI Institute, told Live Science in an email.

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Cause of mysterious dark streaks on Mars found | Live Science