Mars could support alien life in brine under its surface, scientists reveal

Alien life could be hiding in briny water underneath the Martian surface, according to a new study. Scientists had long feared that the lack of plants on Mars would also mean there wouldn't be enough oxygen to support life. But the salty water underneath the surface could store up that oxygen and provide a place for life, a new study suggests. There might be simple animals like sponges hiding beneath that surface, the scientists report. From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater.