It has been stated that we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the Earth’s oceans. This is actually true, as sad as that is to say. However, it was widely speculated that Mars once had oceans, rivers, and lakes just like Earth. While it is unknown if Mars has ever had life, the expectation is that they have. The reason for this speculation was that we know the planet once had a true atmosphere. This means that water sources were present throughout.
[Image via Limbitech/Shutterstock.com]The issue is that we only knew about water in terms of ice on the planet, which can easily be seen at its poles. NASA’s Mars exploration has led to even more discoveries surrounding water on the planet. In September 2015, Mars was found to have flowing water on the planet right now. Then in September 2020, NASA found the existence of saltwater lakes under ice. Finally, in March 2021, a considerable amount of water was found to have existed on ancient Mars and has since been sequestered under rocks and crust on the planet ever since.