Photo: Early Mars Water Was Salty, Toxic Stew

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A Martian outcrop, seen in a mosaic of images taken by the Mars rover Opportunity in February 2004, contains evidence that liquid water once flowed on the red planet.

But a study of data from the rover released on May 29, 2008, suggests that water on early Mars was too thick with salt and other minerals to support life as we know it.

Image courtesy NASA/JPL/Cornell

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