This well known information seems lost on NASA scientists today. And I can understand why as I hear them interviewed on radio and television. I have different reasons for excitement over the Pathfinder's mission. Most importantly, it is paving teh way for future missions that will build our knowledge not only of hte red planet, but of our entire solar system. Meanwhile, photo images suggest that the canyon in which it rests was cut by moving water, possibly liquid or slushy water.
Water certainly is abundant throughout our galaxy.
This past month, water was discovered even on the sun. 1 Permanent liquid water, however, is rare. While Mars in its infancy may have held some water, that water didn't last long. The planet's gravity is too weak to hang onto it. The Martian atmosphere is so thin and frigid that a liquid drop of water landing on the planet's surface evaporates in one second.