Mars May Have Been 1/3 Ocean

coondoggie sends in a snippet from Network World, as is his wont: "It's possible that a huge ocean covered one-third of the surface of Mars some 3.5 billion years ago, a finding likely to reignite an old argument about that amount of water on the red planet, according to a new report. The study by the University of Colorado at Boulder is the first to integrate multiple data sets of river deltas, valley networks and topography from a cadre of NASA and European Space Agency orbiting missions of Mars dating back to 2001, the researchers claim." The National Geographic coverage of the news gives some air time to those doubtful that this study will prove definitive.

Re:We'll Never Know

[TheKidWho]

It's going to take us decades to figure out what happened billions of years ago? I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty quick to me.

Re:We'll Never Know

[Anonymous Coward]

No, but I play one on television.

Re:Always curious about where the water went

[Anonymous Coward]

It is all underground, frozen and waiting for someone to turn the melting reactor on.

Re:maybe it's time to enlist the Japanese

[JWSmythe]

    Escape velocity, fuel supply, navigation. People always bring up those pesky problems. Gimme a spaceship that runs on dilithium crystals that you can run a starship at multiples of the speed of light indefinitely (or at least until the episode plot calls for them to be used up).

Intelligent life

[owlstead]

OK, the ocean has been established. Maybe we can go and look for oil pollution to see if there was intelligent life on mars already?

Re:If the earth is only 6,000 years old...

[owlstead]

Because it was retroactively made 3.5 billion years old 6000 years ago. Oh ye of little faith.

Re:Not funny

[Rakshasa Taisab]

Those were lovechutes; the good energies radiating from Mother Mars slowed the descent.

Re:maybe it's time to enlist the Japanese

[takev]

Someone probably slashed their finger open on the inside of a computer case, dropping blood on the motherboard. So in all likelihood blood has been spilled by the ground crew.

Re:maybe it's time to enlist the Japanese

[Hognoxious]

Or attach it to a really long leash.

[This post brought to you by the institute of cord spinners, rope braiders and string twisters]

Re:maybe it's time to enlist the Japanese

[Anonymous Coward]

Different definition of wouldn't work.

Re:maybe it's time to enlist the Japanese

[zlexiss]

Good plan