There is growing speculation that Nasa may be about to announce it has discovered liquid water on Mars after the space agency called a press conference for later today entitled 'Mars mystery solved'.

At the centre of the rumors is Lujendra Ojha, a grad student at Georgia Tech, who has been announced as one of the speakers alongside two of Nasa's most senior scientists.

Ojha is credited with 'accidentally' discovering the first major evidence that moving water existed on Mars after studying images of the planet's surface back in 2011 while at the University of Arizona.

Nasa promised to solve one of Mars' mysteries at a press conference at 11.30am EST (4.30pm BST) with speaker Lujendra Ojha, a post-grad student who 'accidentally' discovered signs of flowing water on the planet in 2011 (pictured)

Alongside Alfred McEwen, who is also tabled to speak at the Nasa press conference, Ojha decided to study images of gullies on Mars's surface taken by a fellow researcher, Colin Dundas.

For his study, Ojha edited the images to remove blemishes such as shadows and light interference, only to discover dark finger-like markings that moved through the gullies over time.

Not only did the markings appear to move, they did so in a pattern that would be consistent with flowing water.

Ojha branded the discovery a 'lucky accident', saying he had no idea what the shapes were at first, and adding that they had not even occurred in the gullies he had been planning to study.

Mars mystery solved? Find out Monday at 11:30am ET at a live briefing on NASA TV: http://t.co/YYpCP6fv3Y Q? #askNASA pic.twitter.com/Bm35D6DZho — NASA (@NASA) September 25, 2015

Nasa tweeted the announcement on Friday. The conference will be streamed on Nasa TV from 11.30am EST (4.30pm BST) from the James Webb Auditorium in Nasa Headquarters, Washington

By observing pictures of gullies on Mars over time, using a computer program to filer out defects such as shadows, Mr Ojha observed dark 'fingers' spreading across the planet's surface

None the less, once the potential significance of the shapes was realized, he committed to 'years of research' in trying to prove that the markings were actually created by flowing water.

Ojha then moved on the Georgia Tech where he continued to study the gullies.

Another Georgia Tech grad student, Mary Beth Wilhelm, is also tabled to speak alongside Ojha, and is likely to have been working with him at the University.

WHY IS WATER ON MARS SO SIGNIFICANT? Mars is now a frozen desert, but geological studies of rocks by previous missions to the surface have suggested the planet used to be warmer and wetter. Polar ice caps were discovered on the planet nearly four decades ago, and erosion patterns on the surface strongly suggest rivers and oceans may have existed there in its early years. However, with low gravity and a thin atmosphere, it is thought that this water largely evaporated out into space, instead of falling back down, as it would have done on Earth. Evidence of flowing water would change what experts know about the planet and its ability to house life. In particular, finding definitive evidence of liquid water on Mars is the best indication researchers have that life may once have existed, or may yet come into existence, on an alien world. Finding water is a first step toward learning whether the environment could support microbes. Scientists generally agree that besides water and an energy source such as the sun, organic carbon is a necessary prerequisite for life. Advertisement

Since Ojha's discovery, observations of similar sites on Mars have revealed that the finger-like patterns seem to emerge in warmer seasons, and die away during cooler seasons.

This could potentially mean that there is flowing water, and even an ocean, under the surface of the Red Planet, that rises to ground level during warmer weather.

If scientists have found definitive evidence of liquid water on Mars then the implications could be huge, as evidence of flowing water is still the best indication researchers have that life may once have existed, or may yet come into existence, on an alien world.

These fingers not only spread, they moved in patterns usually associated with the flow of water, leading scientists to theorise that there might be liquid water under the surface of Mars

While we have known water existed on Mars for decades, after the discovery of its ice caps (pictured), if concrete evidence has been found of liquid water on the red planet, it would be the first discovery of its kind

Evidence of the presence of water on Mars is nothing new. Polar ice caps were discovered on the planet nearly four decades ago, and erosion patterns on the surface suggest that rivers and oceans may have existed there in its early years.

However, with low gravity and a thin atmosphere, it is thought that this water largely evaporated out into space, instead of falling back down, as it would have done on Earth.

Concrete evidence of liquid water on another planet would be the first discovery of its kind.

While scientists strongly suspect that liquid water could exist on moons such as Ceres and Europa, this hypothesis has not yet been proven.

Scheduled to speak on Monday alongside Ojha, McEwen and Williams is Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA HQ and Michael Meyer, lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program.