NASA released a press statement on Thursday, Sept. 24 indicating that big news about Mars was to come on Monday.

The agency's release teased the news would solve a major Mars mystery, but did not specify what that mystery might be.

For fans who cannot wait, the announcement appears to be a confirmation of salty water flowing on the red planet's surface, CNN reports.

Three scientists named in the upcoming news conference are also listed as authors of a new paper, which claims analysis of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter images proves that periodic dark streaks on the planet's surface are the result of flowing briny water. The salt content of the water is very important -- without it, the water would freeze in Mars' chilly temperatures.

Water on Mars' surface raises many new questions: Where is the water coming from? Has life existed there in the past? Could life exist there in the future?

The research paper doesn't answer such questions, according to CNN. Neither NASA nor the paper's authors have responded to requests for more information.

Monday's announcement may not be about the paper, but it's likely to reference water in the planet's soil or in the atmosphere. Two of the paper's authors, Alfred McEwen, a member of the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and Lujendra Ojha, a grad student and PhD candidate in Planetary Science at Georgia Institute of Technology, have been heavily involved in the hunt for water on Mars.

There have been indications of water on Mars for many years, based on photographic evidence of surface structures that appear to be riverbeds and the results of scientific experiments on planet samples.

The dark streaks or "recurring slope linae," which were initially discovered by Ojha in 2011, are seen on the planet's surface when the temperature is warmer and disappear under cooler conditions. Ojha said the discovery suggests the presence of flowing water, but that it could be difficult to prove.

In April, McEwan provided research to NASA that shows salt in the Martian soil grabs water out of the air to form small puddles at night.

In March, NASA announced that Mars may have once had a sea similar to the Atlantic Ocean on Earth.