Curiosity finds stream on Mars

NASA rover Curiosity has discovered gravel once carried by the waters of an ancient stream that 'ran vigorously' through the area, says the US space agency.

Evidence of water has been found before but this is the first time gravel from a stream bed has been discovered.

The rocky Hottah outcrop looks 'like someone jack-hammered up a slab of city sidewalk, but it's really a tilted block of an ancient stream bed,' project scientist John Grotzinger said in a statement. Curiosity, which has been exploring Mars since early August, also investigated a second outcrop known as Link.

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Curiosity is on a two-year mission to investigate whether it is possible to live on Mars and to learn whether conditions there might have been able to support life in the past.

Read more: Sky News

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Vast African water source found - could last for centuries

A newly discovered water source in Namibia could have a major impact on development in the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa.

Estimates suggest the aquifer could supply the north of the country for 400 years at current rates of consumption.

Scientists say the water is up to 10,000 years old but is cleaner to drink than many modern sources.

However, there are concerns that unauthorised drilling could threaten the new supply.

Read more: BBC News

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Evidence of Past Water found on Mars

[ Yahoo News ] 9 Dec

A NASA rover scouting for signs of past water on Mars has found the strongest evidence yet -- a vein of gypsum, a mineral deposited by water, protruding from an ancient rock. Gypsum -- commonly known as plaster of Paris -- typically forms from water flowing through rock.

The rover, called Opportunity, and its twin, Spirit, arrived on opposite sides of Mars in January 2004. Over the years, the rovers, aided by several orbiting spacecraft, have returned a convincing body of evidence that Mars was not always as cold and dry as it is today.

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