Great Lakes On Mars

Evidence mounts that the Red Planet may once have been wet--and alive

We have long had reason to believe that the Mars we see today is not the Mars that once was. That bleak, freeze-dried world, most planetary scientists agree, was once a warm, wet place, running with rivers and sloshing with seas or oceans. None of that water remains, of course, but the riverbeds and basins stamped in the surface offer powerful arguments that it was there in abundance.

Now NASA has come up with the most striking evidence yet. The Mars Global Surveyor, which has been orbiting the Red Planet since 1997, has returned an album of images that show in...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!