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If any planet outside the Earth is liked by scientists the most, then it is Mars. Scientists from all over the world are engaged in research on Mars. Some mission is working on establishing human settlements in the future, while under some mission, efforts are being made to explore the geological history of Mars. Hundreds of thousands of rock formations on Mars have been mapped in a new project. It is estimated that in the past there would have been presence of large amount of water at these places.

According to the report, data from two Mars orbiters were used to make this map. Planetary scientist John Carter of the Paris-based Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale said in a statement that I think we have collectively made Mars easy. This map doesn’t answer all the questions, but it does point out the places where clues are most likely to be found. The identified sites could be excellent landing site candidates for future Mars missions. Some of these sites may still have ice buried beneath the surface.

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), observations from its Mars Express orbiter and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter helped researchers create the map. According to ESA, this project has been completed in a decade. Previously, scientists knew of only about 1,000 rock formations on Mars that contained hydrated minerals. The new map reveals hundreds of thousands of such structures. John Carter said that this work proved that when you are studying ancient areas in detail, it is really anomalous not to see these minerals.

Even though Mars is dry today, many evidences show that water once flowed on its surface. The new findings suggest that water played a huge role in shaping the geology of Mars during its history. However, it is still unclear whether the presence of water was consistent over time. John Carter said, it is not yet clear how Mars was formed from the abundant presence of water to the one without water. But one thing is clear that the water did not end in one night.