The title of this beautiful ESA image of the Martian surface is Cappuccino Swirls at the South Pole of Mars.
ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / Bill Dunford
Be sure to pack an arm float and a really large drill when you fly to Mars. There will be a whole world of lakes filled with water hidden beneath the southern ice cap of the arid and dusty planet.
A new study led by researchers at Roma Tre University in Italy has strengthened the case. 2018 hidden lake discovery under Martian polar ice, And then expands to include three new lakes.
The researchers used radar data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter to investigate the origin of the liquid water.
Now, considering more data and analyzing it differently, three new lakes have been found, the ESA said in a statement Monday. The team published its study in the journal Nature Astronomy on Monday.
The lakes seem to be hidden under a huge layer of ice. The largest lake is about 19 miles (30 kilometers) long with a range of smaller lakes around it.
Researchers expect that water must be incredibly saline to remain liquid at low temperatures. A different The 2019 study suggests volcanic activity Will help keep the water cool, but the current paper has fallen heavily into the concept of salt.
“When it is not possible for surface water to remain stagnant, the new result opens the possibility that an entire system of ancient lakes may exist underground, perhaps millions or billions of years old,” the ESA said.
Humans are busy finding signs of life – especially evidence of ancient microbes – on Mars. NASA’s new Perseverance Rover will continue this discovery From the surface of the red planet. Liquid reservoirs will be a particularly attractive place to explore life, but these lakes are very difficult to reach. The road has 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) of snow.
We may not get any major answers from the Martian South Pole anytime soon, but it could give us a future target for research once our technical challenge is completed.
