Studies Suggest Water Flowed on Mars

By and large, the more we learn from information gathered by the Mars rover Curiosity sampling the terrain and elements on Mars, the more interesting the story of Mars potentially becomes. Could there have once been life on the red planet? While scientists are still unsure whether any evidence directly points to the existence of life on Mars, there is certainly evidence to support the possibility.

It is believed that lakes and rivers once flowed on Mars for anywhere from 100 to 10,000 years, and that there may have been a common groundwater table on the red planet. Water, of course, has long been held as one of the primary foundations of life. Even the human body is comprised of roughly 60% water. So if water actually did exist at one time, the chance that life was able to develop on Mars becomes an even greater likelihood.

Granted, there is still quite a lot to be explored, and no one is saying for certain that there is any absolute proof that water or life ever existed on what is now a dry, cold, dusty terrain. But the prospect is both intriguing and fascinating. It also confirms for me the very real need to continue to explore space and planets in our solar system and beyond because really, in order for us to understand better our own origins and the development of life on Earth, we have to know what happened in the past and is happening in the present in the Universe, There are answers out there, and we should never stop the process of seeking them out.

Many have argued that space exploration is a waste of time and resources, and of course I disagree with this idea entirely. In fact, I would be for more funding to the space program. Not less. To that end I also think that the space program should be funded by multiple governments and through private donations—while the United Nations is definitely to my mind a waste of time, effort, and resources, I think NASA could perform well as an entity that has cooperation from many nations combined.

I have not been convinced of intelligent design theory, a tenet of theological explanations for the existence of the Earth, of the Universe, and of life itself. And so space exploration, for me, provides for a better understanding of the purpose of life, and the origins of life—answers that I seek on the order of natural selection or natural processes.

I look forward to even more being gleaned from our exploration of Mars, and I think any current findings will further fuel the desire to ramp up a manned mission to Mars so that we can gain even more valuable information that could provide some clues as to whether or not we are truly alone in the Universe.