A coalition of planetary scientists at Brown University and the University of Bern is now disputing beliefs that Martian streaked slopes are signs of flowing water. In place of believing that these slopes are signs of water, the scientists say that they are simply more of a dry formation.

Mars Slope Streaks May Be Dry Dust Trails

Various mission research on the Red Planet has improved our understanding of the planet, and now a new study aims to correct a previous understanding. This is due to the formation of streaked slopes we can observe from various images taken by Mars probes and rovers.

Related: Earth’s Core Isn’t Still: Scientists Discover Solid Rock Flow in the Deep Interior

Previously, scientists believed these streaks were formed by flowing water on Mars. However, a new study by researchers at Brown University and the University of Bern challenges that idea, suggesting a different explanation.

HiRISE Spots Slope Streaks Fanning Out on Mars
These dark streaks, also known as “slope streaks,” on Mars resulted from dust avalanches.  Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

The researchers behind this study used machine learning to “create and analyse a massive dataset of slope streak features.” They concluded that the streaked slopes result from a dry process, such as wind or dust activity.

Adomas Valantinas, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown, says that after reviewing the features they were able to create, they found “no evidence of water.”

The research also shows that the areas on Mars where these streaked slopes are visible are subject to above-average wind speed and dust deposition. Such areas are where craters might have crashed or are subject to shock waves capable of dispersing large amounts of surface dust.

As for recurring slope lineae (RSL), which are slopes that change over time, the research reveals that they are common in areas where dust devils and rockfalls are common.

Slope Streaks in Acheron Fossae on Mars
This observation shows a portion of the wall (light-toned material) and floor of a trough in the Acheron Fossae region of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Does This New Finding Affect Future Mars Exploration Missions?

There’s an ongoing race to explore Mars extensively with hopes of sending humans to live there. The US is one country that is looking towards exploring Mars in the coming years, with various missions already scheduled.

However, most of these missions are built on the belief that the Red planet may be habitable by humans.

While this revelation reshapes our understanding of Mars’ past and whether there was ever water there, it might not affect future Mars exploration missions. The reason is that these missions will serve to help us better understand the planet as well as its makeup.

But the finding might affect the intensity of the missions as they are now geared towards better understanding the planet. Like Valantinas says, the findings from the research “help us to rule out some hypotheses from orbit before we send spacecraft to explore.”