9781422282960

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Science and Energy

INTRODUCTION Life on Mars?

Words to Understand acronym  a word formed from the initials or other parts of several words hydrated  combined with water radiation  energy emitted in the form of tiny particles whose atoms are not stable and are decaying striations  striped patterns; banding with grooves that are narrow and parallel

I n September 2015, scientists at NASA, the space agency of the United States, made a startling announcement. One of their spaceships, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), found evi- dence ofwater flowing on the surface of theRedPlanet.The orbiter didn’t find a river or an ocean, but striations in rock created by hydrated salt that only rushing water could have created. The news rocked the world, because where there is water, sci- entists said, there might be life. “Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water’ in our search for life in the universe, and now