Water In Mars Soil Shows Red Planet Dust Is Actually Two Percent Water--Shocking Discovery By NASA Curiosity Rover

Mars' soil has much more water than previously thought, according to a new discovery by NASA's Curiosity Rover.

The NASA Curiosity Rover has found that soil on Mars is up to two percent water.

Apparently, each cubic foot of the planet's soil contains two pints of liquid water, or one liter.

This is an important sign in the search for life on Mars

"We tend to think of Mars as this dry place-to find water fairly easy to get out of the soil at the surface was exciting to me," Laurie Leshin, dean of science at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, told press.

The water molecules on Mars are actually bound into the soil itself. The molecules are bound to other minerals in the Martian soil.

The little machine that could keeps finding amazing things...and now, it's found water.

OK, it's not an underground lake, but the soil being 2% water is actually kind of a lot.

The water in the soil was measured by sieving a scoop of soil and then dropping it into an oven. "We heat [the soil] up to 835C and drive off all the volatiles and measure them," Leshin said. "We have a very sensitive way to sniff those and we can detect the water and other things that are released."

It seems that water may have once existed in abundance on Mars, perhaps as much as on Earth.

Scientists have long suspected water once existed on the Red Planet, due to water-worn sandstone rock formations in the landscape and pebbles that seem to mark where riverbeds once were.

This discovery also might mean that astronauts will be able to extract water to drink on future voyages to Mars.

"We now know there should be abundant, easily accessible water on Mars," says Leshin. "When we send people, they could scoop up the soil anywhere on the surface, heat it just a bit, and obtain water."

What's next? Researchers said, "Our next step is to drill into rocks that may have been better places to preserve evidence or organics and of wet environments that could be suitable for life."

Do you think this means there was once life on Mars, or did there just happen to be water? Sound off below!