Mysterious gullies on Mars appear to have been etched by melting snow, a finding that offers promising new places to search for signs of life on the red planet, a scientist reported Wednesday.

New pictures collected by NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe show formations that seem to be remnants of thick snow packs that once draped the slopes of craters, cliffs and other areas.

HoustonChronicle.com - Scientist: Mars may have snow formations