Blow for hopes life may still exist on Mars as Nasa astronomers say mysterious ‘water’ streaks may actually be SAND
The streaks on the planet's surface were hailed as a 'major scientific discovery' in 2011 when experts thought they were left by moving liquid
SCIENTISTS have dashed hopes of Mars supporting alien life after realising the mysterious 'water' marks may have been caused by SAND.
Experts at the US Geological Survey concluded there was never enough water to support life after analysing dozens of images of the Red Planet's streaky surface.
Lead author of the study Colin Dundas said: "This new understanding... supports other evidence that shows that Mars today is very dry.
"We've thought of RSL [recurring slope lineae] as possible liquid water flows, but the slopes are more like what we expect for dry sand.
The team found that the streaks only existed at the top of steep slopes and flattened out like a pile of dry sand when the ground evens out.
The streaks were originally hailed as a "major scientific discovery" in 2011, with experts claiming the Mars 'fingers' were likely left by liquid moving across, or beneath, the planet's surface.
However, the study doesn't rule out the presence of Martian water alltogether, only that there aren't any large quantities of it.
"Full understanding of RSL is likely to depend upon on-site investigation of these features," said MRO Project Scientist Rich Zurek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
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