Extraordinary Discovery – Lake on Mars
Italian researchers have reignited the speculations about life on other planets. They have discovered a lake on Mars. Yes, you read it right; a lake, and a giant one at that. The researchers poked at the polar ice caps with a radar. They discovered a lake that stretches 20km across and is 1.5km deep!
Most previous discoveries were associated with temporary pockets and trickles of water on Mars. So, to have found a massive reservoir of the liquid hidden underground is being hailed as a Herculean achievement. The researchers say the lake was likely able to stay liquid because of salts from Martian rocks dissolving into the water, coupled with the incredible pressure of the ice above.
The discovery was made with the aid of MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding), a radar installed on board the European Mars Express probe and developed under the control of the Italian Space Agency.
Many researchers such as Alan Duffy have also speculated that such a phenomenon much exist elsewhere on Mars as well.
The radar from @esa Mars Express strongly reflects from a feature 20km nearly 1.5km under the surface. Liquid water is highly reflective unlike rock/ice allowing this reservoir to be spotted from space pic.twitter.com/Wa12SOsTEC
— Alan Duffy (@astroduff) July 25, 2018
Australian experts have applauded the find, saying the discovery of liquid and frozen water resources is key because of their ability to produce fuel and provide life support for astronauts during deep space missions, allowing lower cost launches and space operations.
It’s not a new concept. The idea of vast lakes of liquid water hidden under the Martian ice caps has been around for more than 30 years. We have them on Earth. Lake Vostok is a freshwater lake. It is 250kms long and 4kms beneath the ice of East Antarctica. Then, why not a lake on Mars?
If it does contain liquid water underground, then Mars has all the ingredients needed for life as we know it. And evidence suggests that organisms can be found in such inhospitable and extreme environments. Researchers have found signs of thousands of species of fungi and bacteria in Lake Vostok.
Does the lake on Mars have life flourishing in it? What do you think?
