Mars water announcement: Google marks discovery with new Doodle

Scientists reported that Mars appears to have flowing water

The dark narrow streaks on the slopes are believed to be formed by seasonal water flow on Mars (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona via Getty Images)

Google has marked Nasa's announcement of the discovery of flowing water on Mars with a new Doodle.

The new animation shows the Red Planet replacing the second ‘o’ in the word Google. It then spins around to show a cute face drinking a glass of water through a straw.

It proved popular among social media users, with some calling the Mars character "adorable".

Scientists from Nasa reported on Monday that Mars appeared to have flowing rivulets of water. Jim Green, the director of planetary science for Nasa, said: "Mars is not the dry, arid planet that we thought of in the past."

The water, which could be used for drinking, creating oxygen and rocket fuel, had the potential to facilitate astronauts who wanted to visit or live on Mars. The chairman of the House science, space and technology committee, Representative Lamar Smith, said in a statement: "The more evidence we find of it, the more encouraged I am for future Mars missions."

Such a finding also increased the odds of life existing on the planet.

Additional reporting by AP