Salty Martian groundwater may have enough oxygen to support life

Surface of Mars

Dry at the surface, but there may be oxygen-rich water underground

JPL/NASA

The atmosphere of Mars may not contain much oxygen, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the planet itself lacks the stuff.  A new calculation of how much oxygen could be dissolved in Martian brines shows that the dusty world may be hiding an abundance of oxygen under its surface – potentially enough to support life.

We know Mars has oxygen on its surface, which is why it looks red: iron in Martian dust mixes with oxygen to create rust.

Vlada Stamenković  at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in …