What Water on Mars means for Earth: From science to conspiracy (pics)

NASA’s news that there is water on Mars buzzed through the scientific world as Planet Earth tried to make sense of the repercussions of this information.

NASA announced:

A primitive ocean on Mars held more water than Earth’s Arctic Ocean, according to NASA scientists who, using ground-based observatories, measured water signatures in the Red Planet’s atmosphere.

This means, according to physicists that it’s possible that microbial life could still be lurking underneath the surface.

Monday’s announcement goes back to a discovery that had been made in 2010 when Lujendra Ojha, Arizona University Undergraduate Student was studying images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and found streaks along the sides of hills and cliffs that looked like tracks of running water. The formations appeared in Martian spring and summer when water would be the likeliest to exist, and these disappeared in the colder months.

What the announcement means for Earth?

* For astronauts: The news will change the way that astronauts explore the planet.

* For space exploration investment: The discovery give impetus for more technology to explore the galaxy and make other discovery despite considerable costs. The news sparks greater interest in exploration.

* For UFO enthusiasts: The possibility of life on Mars has just become a little more realistic, with future colonization being considered.Water can be converted for drinking, growing plants and even rocket fuel.

* For conspiracists I: There is the belief that NASA has been lying for years as part of a plan to push through liberal climate change policies.

* For conspiracists II: Mars was once a planet just like Earth with warm, salty seas and freshwater caps. Something happened to Mars and it lost its water. Could the source of human life on Earth be in some way linked to life on Mars?

* For filmgoers: The release of Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” coincides with NASA’s announcement. The movie’s media team is enjoying the free press as the movie focuses on a stranded astronaut who must find a source of water to survive.