--- title: Water on Mars a Possibility According to NASA description: NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered that conditions on Mars are sometimes “favorable” to producing brine in the soil. canonical: https://time.com/3820701/water-mars-life-curiosity-rover-brine-nasa/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-14T06:55:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:15.921Z article:section: Science og:title: There Could Be Water In the Martian Soil, NASA Says og:description: Major requirement for the existence of life? Check. og:url: https://time.com/3820701/water-mars-life-curiosity-rover-brine-nasa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd69a3d92a0692897/6987eae65f570f1860b191e3/nasa-curiosity-rover.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2627 og:image:height: 1478 og:image:alt: NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is pictured in this self-portrait where the rover drilled into a sandstone target called "Windjana" on Mars in this handout photo. June 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There Could Be Water In the Martian Soil, NASA Says twitter:description: Major requirement for the existence of life? Check. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd69a3d92a0692897/6987eae65f570f1860b191e3/nasa-curiosity-rover.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Water Could Be Forming in the Martian Soil Under Certain Conditions > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: The Making of Mount Sharp - NASA [Watch (HLS stream): The Making of Mount Sharp - NASA](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mFfsxm2r.m3u8) (2:17)  _Published 2015-04-14. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows us how a Martian mountain came to be in the story behind Curiosity's current location on Mars._ by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Apr 14, 2015 6:55 AM UTC  NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is pictured in this self-portrait where the rover drilled into a sandstone target called "Windjana" on Mars in this handout photo. June 2014. NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is pictured in this self-portrait where the rover drilled into a sandstone target called "Windjana" on Mars in this handout photo. June 2014. NASA/Reuters by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Apr 14, 2015 6:55 AM UTC NASA’s Curiosity rover has [discovered ](http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=1802)that conditions on Mars are “favorable” to producing briny water in the soil, which could in turn imply that water could form all over the surface of the Red Planet if certain conditions are met. Scientists found that the soil in the Gale Crater of Mars contained perchlorate, a salt that acts as a kind of anti-freeze by absorbing water vapor from the atmosphere, lowering the freezing temperature of the water. Curiosity’s latest findings — published as a study in _Nature Geosciences_ — have led NASA scientists to suggest that, during certain cold nights, the temperature and humidity levels are just right for brine to form in the soil, drying out after sunrise. Liquid water is a requirement for life, the study’s lead author Javier Martin-Torres said. But the data doesn’t mean the rover will unearth E.T. on its next mission. “Conditions near the surface of present-day Mars are hardly favorable for microbial life as we know it, but the possibility for liquid brine on Mars has wider implications for habitability and geological water-related processes,” he said. The latest study analyzes the planet’s humidity and temperature for a full Martian year. The data shows that brine should be forming all over the planet, especially at higher altitudes. “Gale Crater is one of the least likely places on Mars to have conditions for brines to form, compared to sites at higher latitudes or with more shading,” said co-author of the report Alfred McEwen. Since Curiosity landed on the Martian planet in August 2012, it has found strong evidence to suggest that ancient stream-beds and lakes existed more than three billion years ago. To discover how these environmental conditions evolved, the rover is now examining Mount Sharp, a mountain with sediment layers that lies at the center of the Gale Crater. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3820701/water-mars-life-curiosity-rover-brine-nasa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3820701/water-mars-life-curiosity-rover-brine-nasa/"},"headline":"Water Could Be Forming in the Martian Soil Under Certain Conditions","datePublished":"2015-04-14T06:55:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:15.921Z","description":"Major requirement for the existence of life? 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