Photos: The Search for Water on Mars

Mars Rover Curiosity on Sol 85

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has discovered that dirt covering a portion of its Gale Crater landing zone is 2-percent water. [Read the Full Story Here]

Science Target Jake_M

This image shows a raw view of the rock Jake and the science target Jake_M taken by the Mars rover Curiosity in Gale Crater. The solid red circles labeled JM1 and JM2 indicate the locations where the rover used its APXS instrument, while the yellow spots indicate ChemCam laser targets. Image released Sept. 26, 2013.[Read the Full Story Here]

Mars Rover Curiosity's CheMin Result

This image depicts the science result from the Mars rover Curiosity's CheMin instrument, showing an X-ray diffraction of the rover's fifth scoop of Martian dirt. The black semi-circle at the bottom is the shadow of the beam stop. Image released Sept. 26, 2013.[Read the Full Story Here]

Mars Rock Target Rocknest

At left, a closeup view of the Mars rock target Rocknest taken by the Curiosity rover showing its sandy surface and shadows that were disrupted by the rover's front left wheel. At right, a view of Mars samples from Curiosity's third dirt scoop after it was seived. Image released Sept. 26, 2013.[Read the Full Story Here]

Views of Rocknest Rock Target on Mars

This image from the Mars rover Curiosity shows several views of the crust formation and texture of the Rocknest rock target on the Martian surface. The top two views are context images, with closeups below. Image released Sept. 26, 2013.[Read the Full Story Here]

Microscopic View of Martian Soil Targets

This image from NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows a microscopic view of Martian soil targets studied by the rover. Image released Sept. 26, 2013.[Read the Full Story Here]

McLaughlin Crater on Mars (3D View)

This color image draped onto digital topography shows McLaughlin Crater in a 3D perspective, looking toward the east. Light-toned deposits on the crater floor contain alteration minerals that are overlayed by debris flows from Keren Crater, present on the south rim. McLaughin Crater once contained a lake that was likely fed by groundwater.

Signs of Possible Water on Mars at Newton Crater

This image combining orbital imagery with 3-D modeling shows flows that appear in spring and summer on a slope inside Mars' Newton crater.

Oblique View of Newton Crater

These slopes on Mars, as photographed by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRise) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, may have been carved by saltwater that could run down the Martian surface each spring.

Potential Water Ice and Salt Map of Mars

This map of Mars shows relative locations of three types of findings related to salt or frozen water, plus a new type of finding that may be related to both salt and water. Blue boxes are caches of water ice; white boxes are fresh craters that exposed water ice; red boxes are salt deposits that may be from salt water evaporation.

Oblique View of Newton Crater with Synthetic Sky

The slopes on Mars that might host liquid runs of saltwater are seen here with a synthetic Mars-like sky in the background.