Mars rover Curiosity finds evidence of ancient fast-moving streams on surface of red planet

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A dried-up riverbed has been discovered on Mars which is the first direct evidence of an ancient network of fast-running streams on the Red Planet, scientists said today. Although there has been strong indirect evidence that large amounts of water once existed on our neighbouring planet, the latest observations from Nasa's Curiosity rover confirm that Mars was once a watery world in which microbial life may once have thrived. “Hottah looks like someone jack-hammered up a slab of city sidewalk, but it's really a tilted block of an ancient streambed,” said John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Life on Mars, in Utah Mars rover Curiosity drills into Martian surface Scientists claim new data is 'strongest evidence yet' that Mars may have supported life