NASA will announce a major Martian science finding from its continued study of the Red Planet during a live press event on Monday, September 28 at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

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News conference participants include Jim Green, director of planetary science; Michael Meyer, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program; Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology; Mary Beth Wilhelm from NASA’s Ames Research Center; and, Alfred McEwen, principal investigator for the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE).The announcement may be related to recurring slope lineae (RSL), dark tendrils that appear annually on the Martian surface during warm seasons and evaporate during cooler months.A majority of the planets have done extensive research into the phenomena. Ojha and McEwen published a paper in 2011 detailing findings that RSL may be “possible flows of salt water on Mars.” However, further studies have yet to confirm if the dark streaks are water related or not "We still don't have a smoking gun for existence of water in RSL, although we're not sure how this process would take place without water," said Ojha previously.Debate surrounding the causation of RSL and whether origin of the theoretical moisture is atmospheric or subsurface continues. For instance, research by scientist David Stillman suggests that an aquifer is a source of RSL sites in the Martian Valles Marineris canyon.Recent findings show that the Red Planet may have once flaunted a massive ocean 450 feet (137 meters) deep covering half of its northern hemisphere 4.5 billion years ago.The upcoming live event will be streamed on NASA Television and the official NASA website. You can ask questions during the briefing using the AskNASA hashtag on Twitter.Image Credit: NASA/Greg Shirah

Jenna Pitcher is a freelance journalist writing for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter