THE chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, but the search for martian life has just been boosted with the discovery of a precious, life giving resource - water.

New findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have provided the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on the red planet.

The MRO is a multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and exploration of Mars from orbit.

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated mineral salts on slopes where mysterious darkish streaks, known recurring slope lineae (RSL) have been observed to ebb and flow over time, darkening in warm seasons and fading in cooler months.

The spectrometer observations show signatures of hydrated salts at multiple RSL locations, but only when the dark features were relatively wide.

The idea they may be related to the presence of water has been speculated since they were first noticed by University of Arizona undergraduate student Lujendra Ojha in 2010.

Ojha and his co-authors have interpreted the spectral signatures as caused by hydrated minerals called perchlorates.

The hydrated salts most consistent with the chemical signatures are likely a mixture of magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate. Some perchlorates have been shown to keep liquids from freezing even when conditions are as cold as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 Celsius).

On Earth, naturally produced perchlorates are concentrated in deserts, and some types of perchlorates can be used as rocket propellant.

"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 validates what we've long suspected," said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

"This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water -- albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars."

For more information, see the NASA website.