Water on Mars any point in the year but would be ideal for solid carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide melting in the warmer summer would yield liquid carbon dioxide which would then form the gullies. Even if gullies are carved by flowing water at the surface, the exact source of the water and the mechanisms behind its motion are not understood. The dry gullies are deep grooves etched into the slopes that are there year-round. There are many other features on Mars, and some of them change seasonally. In August 2011, NASA announced the discovery by undergraduate student Lujendra Ojha of current seasonal
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter opal, and gypsum. Two to five of the mineral classes were formed with the right pH and sufficient water to permit life to grow. The "Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter" CTX and HiRISE cameras have photographed a number of avalanches off the scarps of the northern polar cap as they were occurring. On August 4, 2011 (sol ), NASA announced that MRO had detected what appeared to be flowing salty water on the surface or subsurface of Mars. On September 28, 2015, this finding was at a special NASA news conference. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a multipurpose spacecraft