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After more than a century of wild speculation, decades of serious searching, and years of collecting increasingly compelling evidence, there is suddenly a scientific and media buzz over whether Mars is a planet sculpted by water.
Thing is, that question is already answered in the minds of most Mars experts.
For the first billion years or two, Mars was almost surely warmer and wetter, most scientists agree. What lingers is a big, multi-part mystery of what happened to all the water, how long ago it disappeared, and whether it was around long enough -- and under the right conditions -- to have possibly incubated life.
The latest news -- a previously unheralded mineral called hematite has been detected by NASA's Opportunity rover -- dribbled out late last week and over the weekend. It might turn out to be a key moment in Mars exploration history, but some scientists think it is more likely to represent just another piece in a huge puzzle of a planet that could remain largely enigmatic for years to come.
About that hematite
Bob Craddock, science advisor to the under secretary for science at the Smithsonian Institution, says the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity are very important to the exploration of Mars. But he cautions that each robot is exploring only a tiny bit of the red planet -- akin to covering a few blocks near your home and calling it Earth. Sweeping conclusions about the entire Martian world will be difficult.
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