Flowing ice on Pluto a sign of past life?

Washington, July 25: After spotting stunning mountain ranges on Pluto, NASA's New Horizons mission has now found evidence of exotic ice flowing across Pluto's surface and a surprising extended haze - a phenomenon only seen on active worlds like Earth and Mars. In the northern region of Pluto’s Sputnik Planum, swirl-shaped patterns of light and dark suggest that a surface layer of exotic ices has flowed around obstacles and into depressions, much like glaciers on Earth. “With flowing ices, exotic surface chemistry, mountain ranges and vast haze, Pluto is showing a diversity of planetary geology that is truly thrilling,” said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. The new images show fascinating details within the Texas-sized plain, informally named Sputnik Planum, which lies within the western half of Pluto's heart-shaped feature, known as Tombaugh Regio. There, a sheet of ice clearly appears to have flowed -- and may still be flowing -- in a manner similar to glaciers on Earth.