It's widely accepted that Mars was once home to streams and rivers, and that parts of its ice cap are composed of frozen water. But could there still be moisture in the planet's soil? After analyzing a sample collected by the Curiosity rover, a team of scientists has found strong evidence that Martian dirt contains traces of water — and that it could be recovered and used in manned Mars missions.
The discovery was made possible by a February mission to collect a soil sample from Mars. A month earlier, Curiosity had used a brush to sweep up dust from the planet's surface, but the material didn't lend itself to deep analysis. So the bot made its way to the Gale Crater, a site that's thought to have held water in the past. From there,...
via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/26/4772828/curiosity-tests-show-water-in-martian-soil
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