Discovering ancient underground lakes on Mars

Make sure to pack some arm floats and a really great workout when you travel to Mars. There may be a whole world of ponds filled with water hiding under the southern ice sheet on the dry and dusty planet.

A new study led by researchers at the University of Rome Tri, Italy, has strengthened the case of A. 2018 Discovery of a lake hidden under Martian polar iceThen the discovery expands to include three new pools.

The researchers used radar data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter to make the original detection of liquid water.

Now, taking more data into account and analyzing it in a different way, three new pools have been discovered, The European Space Agency said in a statement Monday. The team posted a file The study is in Nature Astronomy on Monday.

The lakes seem to lurk beneath a huge layer of ice. The largest lake is about 19 miles (30 kilometers) wide with a series of small ponds surrounding it.

Researchers speculate that the water would have to be incredibly salty to remain liquid at lower temperatures. Separated A 2019 study suggested volcanic activity It may help keep the water from freezing, but the current paper leans heavily on the concept of salt.

“While it is not possible for water to remain stable at the surface today, the new finding opens the possibility of an entire system of ancient lakes underground, perhaps millions or even billions of years,” the European Space Agency said.

Humans are busy searching for signs of life – especially evidence of ancient microbes – on Mars. NASA’s new Perseverance Vehicle will continue in this endeavor From the surface of the red planet. Liquid water tanks may be a particularly tempting place to seek life, but access to these ponds will be extremely difficult. There’s just one mile (1.5 kilometers) of ice on the way.

We may not have any big answers from Mars’ south pole anytime soon, but it could give us a future goal of exploration once our technology is up to the challenge.