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PASADENA, Calif. — A Mars probe has spied what appear to be ancient salt deposits in the southern highlands of the planet, giving scientists another place to study whether the environment could have supported primitive life.
The evidence of salt remnants is important because they pinpoint regions where water once flowed. Scientists said the deposits likely formed 3.5 billion to 3.9 billion years ago, possibly from groundwater that reached the surface and evaporated.
The salt deposits were found by NASA’s orbiting Mars Odyssey, which was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Jefferson County.
