The Panjin Red Beach lies on the Shuangtaizi River estuary, just outside of Panjin City, China. The river isn’t your typical freshwater river. The water has a high saline content and very high alkaline levels. Typically, this leads to plants being unable to grow in the water or on the shore. However, there is a very special plant that has adapted to the conditions of the river and thrives in this environment.

Suaeda (also known as seablite), is a kind of succulent that only grows in the type of habitat found along the river. Like a lot of plants, the suaeda changes with the seasons. During the spring and summer months, the seablite is a typical green color. In the fall, it turns this deep bright red color as far as the eye can see.

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Scientists identified sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon -- some of the key chemical ingredients for life -- in the powder Curiosity drilled out of a sedimentary rock near an ancient stream bed in Gale Crater on the Red Planet last month.

To simulate life on Mars, a six-person crew will live in a dome in the middle of the desert—with almost no connection to the outside world—for eight straight months.

Since its discovery in 2010, researchers have been trying to solve the mystery of dark streaks that appear and disappear seasonally on the planet's surface (shown above). Scientists are now claiming that this phenomenon, known as the recurring slope lineae, is caused by a bath of saltwater. What is still unknown, however, is where the water is coming from, or if the chemistry is even right for supporting life.