Martian water may have come from inside the red planet F. A. Jones 01.30.01 Recent photographs of the surface of Mars provide evidence that the red planet may once have had standing water, just like Earth does today. These photographs, taken by the Mars Global Surveyor clearly show what appears to be a river basin. But, if there was water on an acient Mars, where did it come from?    One theory about the origin of water on Mars states that water may have come from underground. Water could have reached the surface in after being held in molten rock, called magma, through volcanic explosions. How did scientists discover this?    Researchers from the University of Tennesee, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other institutions looked at meteors believed to be composed of Martian rock. Within the meteors, the scientists found tiny crystals of minerals called pyroxenes. These crystals contain elements that can only be formed in the presence of water. When scientists compared the amount of these elements in the outside of the crystal to the amount inside, they noted that the amount of elements associated with water was higher on the inside than on the outside. This provides evidence that the outside of the crystal lost water and dried out as the magma rose out of the ground. Scientists believe that as much as 2% of the magma could have been composed of water held under pressure. This water would have been given off as steam as the magma rose to the Martian surface and cooled.    It might seem like the water contained in tiny crystals might not be enough to make a river or an ocean, but if enough magma was produced, it could mean a lot of water.  MCSWEEN JR, HARRY, et al. 2001. Geochemical evidence for magmatic water within Mars from pyroxenes in the Shergotty meteorite. Nature 409: 487-490.    Photo: NASA      ©2001 The Aurora Collection, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Site Development by: Interactive Multimedia. Inc.