Posted: Tue, Jan 22, 2013, 7:10 AM ET (1210 GMT)
Planetary scientists have found evidence that a Martian crater was once home to a lake fed by groundwater. Scientists reporting in the latest edition of the journal Nature Geoscience said they found evidence of carbonate and clay minerals in the floor of the 2.2-kilometer-deep McLaughlin Crater. Evidence for the minerals comes from spectrometer data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Scientists believe that the minerals, which form in the presence of water, were deposited when groundwater created a lake in the floor of the crater.

Related Links:

•  AFP article
•  SPACE.com article
•  SEN article
•  NASA press release