TUCSON, Ariz. -- Research led by the University of Arizona advances the theory water once flowed on Mars and soil at its northern pole might have been able to support life millions of years ago.
The lead scientist on the five-month-long Phoenix Mars Mission, UA professor Peter H. Smith, says the evidence was what the team was looking for.
MORE: University of Arizona Mars PageThe mission, which published research Friday in the journal Science, found basic ingredients life needs to survive -- water in the form of ice, various minerals and a salt called perchlorate used by microbes on Earth as an energy source.
Scientists believe Mars' polar region is too dry and cold to support life, but the team found signs suggesting liquid water was once present, and detected such minerals as sodium, magnesium and chloride.
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