US satellite observations have produced the first strong evidence for water flowing on Mars.

美国卫星观测找到了火星表面存在液态水的首批强有力证据。

The water is a brine saturated¹ in salts such as perchlorates. As it seeps² down the slopes of Martian craters³ and mountains, it leaves narrow streaks⁴ less than five metres wide, which appear and lengthen⁵ during the warm season and fade during the Martian winter.

这种水是含有饱和盐类（如高氯酸盐）的咸水。随着咸水渗入火星陨石坑和山丘的斜坡，它留下了不到5米宽的狭窄条纹，这些条纹在温暖季节显现并延长，而在火星冬季时逐渐消失。

Although the salty liquid would not be drinkable by visiting astronauts in its present form, the presence of any water strengthens the idea that Mars may harbour microscopic⁶ lifeforms.

虽然这种咸水以目前形态无法被到访火星的宇航员饮用，但任何形式水的存在都会加强火星可能存在微小生命形态的设想。

“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates⁷ what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, Nasa’s head of science. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water, albeit⁸ briny⁹, is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

“我们在火星上的探索一直在‘循着水’寻找宇宙中的生命，而现在我们有了令人信服的科学证据来证实我们所长期怀疑的，”美国宇航局(NASA)科学部门主管约翰格隆菲尔德(John Grunsfeld)说，“这是一项重大发现，因为它似乎证实了如今有水（尽管是咸的）在火星表面流淌。”

Nasa scientists announced their “major science finding” at a news conference in Washington and in a scientific paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

NASA科学家在华盛顿的一场新闻发布会以及发表在《自然地球科学》(Nature Geoscience)期刊上的科学论文中宣布了他们的“重大科学发现”。