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US satellite observations have produced the first strong evidence for water flowing on Mars.
美国卫星观测找到了火星表面存在液态水的首批强有力证据。
The water is a brine saturated in salts such as perchlorates. As it seeps down the slopes of Martian craters and mountains, it leaves narrow streaks less than five metres wide, which appear and lengthen during the warm season and fade during the Martian winter.
这种水是含有饱和盐类（如高氯酸盐）的咸水。随着咸水渗入火星陨石坑和山丘的斜坡，它留下了不到5米宽的狭窄条纹，这些条纹在温暖季节显现并延长，而在火星冬季时逐渐消失。
Although the salty liquid would not be drinkable by visiting astronauts in its present form, the presence of any water strengthens the idea that Mars may harbour microscopic lifeforms.
虽然这种咸水以目前形态无法被到访火星的宇航员饮用，但任何形式水的存在都会加强火星可能存在微小生命形态的设想。
“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, Nasa’s head of science. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water, albeit briny, is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”
“我们在火星上的探索一直在‘循着水’寻找宇宙中的生命，而现在我们有了令人信服的科学证据来证实我们所长期怀疑的，”美国宇航局(NASA)科学部门主管约翰格隆菲尔德(John Grunsfeld)说，“这是一项重大发现，因为它似乎证实了如今有水（尽管是咸的）在火星表面流淌。”
Nasa scientists announced their “major science finding” at a news conference in Washington and in a scientific paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
NASA科学家在华盛顿的一场新闻发布会以及发表在《自然地球科学》(Nature Geoscience)期刊上的科学论文中宣布了他们的“重大科学发现”。
