This article declares that new images taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) illustrates that geographical features once thought to have been carved by flowing water can be attributed to other geological events. While these photos do not confirm that liquid water has never existed on the planet, the bright deposits thought to have been created by water were in fact probably created by dry landslides. The slopes above the deposits are steep enough to facilitate sand and dust to flow down into the gullies. The images provided by MRO do not indicate any strong evidence for the existence of water.
The article then goes on to describe the equipment of MRO that has provided unprecedented high-resolution images of the Martian surface. The MRO is helping to provide better understanding of the geography of Mars and to assist in the search for signs of the presence of liquid water in the geologic past. For example, features of the Athabasca Valles once thought to be the outcome of erosion from water can now be traced to lava flow thanks to the high-resolution images collected by the MRO. The cone-shaped features found on the Athabasca floor can be attributed to steam explosions that occurred when water and lava interacted. This is an indication that the lava-covered ground may have contained ground ice, and when the ice heated, steam exploded trhough the lava creating the cones.
Other images collected by the MRO also rule out the hypothesis that Mars once harbored an ancient ocean. The Vastitas Borealis Formation was once thought to contain fine-grained deposits left over by an ancient sea, but the new images from MRO reveal that the area is a flat, featureless plain covered with large boulders. While the images collected by MRO do not provide strong evidence for the presence of water on Mars in geologically recent times, this does not mean that water on Mars does not exist. Scientists continue to search for water locked in the poles of Mars.
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(This was originally a post. I thought I read all of the posts before I put it up... I was wrong. Woops. Idea's out there anyway)
Though the article makes a very specific point of saying that, "In science, discrediting a theory can be just as important as supporting one." But this seems to be a little more as a propaganda tool to not get people disheartened about possible manned missions or colonization of the planet. Without water it's going to make living on Mars nearly impossible, and without the human factor there isn't much support for space exploration. People want places the can "go", not abstract deserts with robot eyes beaming back bleak pictures.
However, this doesn't mean that there isn't water on the surface of mars anywhere. It simply means that it's not in the places we thought it would be. There's still hope and I'm certainly hoping that we find a drinking fountain up there soon.
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