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
NASA Design Reference Mission 3.0 how they are utilized. A major component that was sent is the Earth return vehicle, which would use aerobraking to get into Mars orbit. Next, a cargo Mars lander would get important hardware to the surface of Mars which would also use aerobraking. Finally, the crew would land on the surface and use the pre-positioned hardware to conduct the mission and then return to Earth. This plan would use the in-situ production of fuel for Mars ascent stage of returning crew. Both aerocapture and in-situ resource production were methods to reduce overall launch weight of mission plan. NASA Design Reference