“The discovery of more than 15,000 kilometers of ancient riverbeds on Mars suggests that the Red Planet may once have been much wetter than previously thought.”

agimarc: Yes, I think momentum is also part of the problem. Many scientists have tunnel vision, and are not aware of the larger global picture coming out the orbiters.

Because I am not focused on specific research projects, I look at all the research being done, which gives me a wider perspective.

I shouldn’t however be the only space journalist with this perspective. Yet is seems so.

Momentum. Simple momentum. Same reason that Ivermectin was ignored, eventually actively suppressed. Not only does it conflict with whatever the Accepted Solution at the time is, it challenges whatever the Powers That Be have determined it to be. Demonstrate they are wrong and they are unemployed. Think continental drift or catastrophic changes on Earth in the past. Both were ignored until all the old scientists died off. We are living it once again. Cheers –

There is a probe called the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) in Mars’s orbit.

Might it be able to gradually lift itself like Bereshete such that it can get near this new hyperbolic object?

https://www.planet.geo.fu-berlin.de/eng/projects/mars/hrsc531-PhlegraMontes.php

“Only one lander, Phoenix, has ever been successfully dropped far from the Martian equator, and it was purposely sent to a very high latitude, where it proved there was ice present just below the surface.”

From NASA:

“On May 31, the robotic arm scooped up dirt and began sampling Martian soil for ice. By June 19, mission scientists were able to conclude that clumps of bright material in the “DodoGoldilocks” trench dug by the robotic arm were probably water ice – the material had vaporized four days after the scoop.”

Probably Proved.

We had space fever, but no Elon.

That’s flipped

Steve: I consider two reasons for this: 1. Ignorance. Modern reporters and PR departments and even a lot of Mars scientists are not up-to-date on the larger science context on Mars. They just repeat the old tropes out of habit.

2. Money. As you say, overstating Mars’ dryness makes their story more dramatic, and encourages funding. This is comparable to NASA’s constant lying that Perseverance is searching for life on Mars. It is merely a shallow selling point that sounds good, but is divorced from reality.

Typically I would say follow the money. Research grant money? Exploration vehicle grant money?