# Liquid water found on Mars **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquid-water-found-on-mars/669767 "2013-09-27T01:15:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquid-water-found-on-mars/669767/1 "2013-09-27T01:15:14Z")
Story [here](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/26/nasas-curiosity-rover-finds-water-on-mars/). > [@](#): > > Water has been discovered in the fine-grained soil on the surface of Mars, which could be a useful resource for future human missions to the red planet, according to measurements made by NASA’s Curiosity rover. > > Each cubic foot of Martian soil contains around two pints of liquid water, though the molecules are not freely accessible, but rather bound to other minerals in the soil. > > \ > > “We tend to think of Mars as this dry place – to find water fairly easy to get out of the soil at the surface was exciting to me,” said Laurie Leshin, dean of science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and lead author on the Science paper which confirmed the existence of water in the soil. “If you took about a cubic foot of the dirt and heated it up, you’d get a couple of pints of water out of that – a couple of water bottles’ worth that you would take to the gym.” :rolleyes: You’re looking in the wrong place, guys! Send Rover to the [canals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_canals)! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquid-water-found-on-mars/669767/2 "2013-09-27T01:22:04Z")
“Houston, we confirm transmission receipt from Gondola I…” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquid-water-found-on-mars/669767/3 "2013-09-27T01:26:24Z")
Sounds more like water of hydration, rather than what I’d call “liquid water”. Still, it’s accessible, and that’s something. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquid-water-found-on-mars/669767/4 "2013-09-27T03:44:50Z")
At any rate, it means Martians really do have something to [worship](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land)! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquid-water-found-on-mars/669767/5 "2013-09-27T22:49:36Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > At any rate, it means Martians really do have something to [worship](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land)! 🙂 …or something to fear: > **[Amazon.com: Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars (DVD) : Tennant, David, Lindsay...](https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Waters-David-Tennant/dp/B002ZHKZFG)** > > Product Description Mars, 2059. Bowie Base One. Last recorded message: “Don’t drink the water. Don’t even touch it. Not one drop"... all will be revealed in TheWaters of Mars starring Lindsay Duncan as the Doctor’s cleverest and most... > **[The Waters of Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waters_of_Mars)** > > "The Waters of Mars" is the second of four hour-long specials of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, all serving as David Tennant's final episodes as the Tenth Doctor. As with the previous special, "Planet of the Dead", it was simultaneously broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 15 November 2009. > Set on Mars in the year 2059, the episode depicts the Doctor encountering the first human colony, Bowie Base One, commanded by one-off companion Captain Adelaide Brooke (Lindsay D... ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liquid-water-found-on-mars/669767/6 "2013-09-29T22:47:37Z")
On the other hand, they have determined that methane is extremely rare on Mars, which doesn’t bode well for the existence of any life, apparently. ☹