Light-colored deposits in Martian soil indicate that water long ago may have gushed from springs, the European Space Agency (ESA) reported.

That water might, for a time, have sheltered any life forms on Mars as the planet began drying up, losing its surface water and atmosphere.

In like fashion, water would be critical to sustaining future human life on Mars. Water, H2O, is required for drinking and cooking. It can irrigate crops that would be grown on Mars to feed humans. And separated into its elements, water would yield oxygen for breathing, and hydrogen to provide heat and electricity to homes and offices, and power for vehicles.

Data and images from the Mars Express spacecraft suggest that several Light Toned Deposits (LTDs), some of the least understood features on Mars, were formed when large amounts of groundwater burst on to the surface, according to the ESA.

Scientists propose that groundwater had a greater role in shaping the Martian surface than previously believed.

LTDs — Martian sediments that most closely resemble sediments on Earth — are some of the most mysterious sediments on Mars. Causes for their origin remain unknown. Until now, different mechanisms, including volcanic processes, have been proposed for their formation.

LTDs first were discovered by the Viking spacecraft in the late 1970s and have since been at the center of scientific debate. These deposits occur on a large scale at various regions on Mars, in Arabia Terra, Chaotic Terrain and Valles Marineris, close to the Tharsis volcanic bulge.

Now, based on Mars Express data, scientists propose that these sediments are actually younger than originally believed, findings they outlined in a paper published in September this year. They have proposed that several LTDs may have been deposited by large-scale springs of groundwater that burst on to the surface, possibly at different times.

Analysis indicates that ground water had a more wide-ranging and important role in Martian history than previously believed. Hydrated minerals, relatively young in age, have been found in the region.

Given that the deposits are relatively young in age, and associated with water, they may also have sheltered microbial life from the drier and harsher climate in more recent times on Mars, possibly eliminating the need for a stable atmosphere or a permanent water body.