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Space.com: Once-Habitable Lake Found on Mars

080306-holden-crater-02.jpg photo credit NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

A lake that might once have been habitable may have filled a crater for a long time on early Mars, new spacecraft images reveal.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured the images that suggest the debris-strewn Holden Crater once held a calm body of water that could have harbored life. There is so far no convincing evidence life does or ever did exist on Mars, however.

"Holden crater has some of the best-exposed lake deposits and ancient megabreccia known on Mars," said Alfred McEwen, principal scientist for MRO's HiRISE camera. "Both contain minerals that formed in the presence of water and mark potentially habitable environments. This would be an excellent place to send a rover or sample-return mission to make major advances in understanding if Mars supported life."