Liquid water lake discovered on Mars

WASHINGTON: A massive underground lake has been detected for the first time on Mars, raising hopes that more water – and maybe even life – exists there, astronomers said on Wednesday.

Located under a layer of Martian ice, the lake is about 20km wide, said the report in the US journal Science.

It is the largest body of liquid water ever found on the Red Planet.

“Water is there. We have no more doubt,” co-author Enrico Flamini, the Italian space agency’s Mars Express mission manager, told a press conference.

Mars is now cold, barren and dry but it used to be warm and wet.

It was home to plenty of liquid water and lakes at least 3.6 billion years ago.

Scientists are eager to find signs of contemporary water, because such discoveries are key to unlocking the mystery of whether life ever formed on Mars in its ancient past, and whether it might persist today.

“This is a stunning result that suggests water on Mars is not a temporary trickle like previous discoveries but a persistent body of water that provides the conditions for life for extended periods of time,” said Alan Duffy, an associate professor at Swinburne University in Australia, who was not involved in the study.

Being able to access water sources could also help humans survive on a future crewed mission to Earth’s neighbouring planet, with Nasa aiming to send explorers in the 2030s.

This particular lake, however, would be neither swimmable nor drinkable, and it lies almost 1.6km beneath the icy surface in a harsh and frigid environment.

Whether microbial forms of life could lie within is a matter of debate.

Some experts are sceptical of the possibility since the lake is so cold and briny, mixed with a heavy dose of dissolved Martian salts and minerals.

The temperature is likely below the freezing point of pure water, but the lake can remain liquid due to the presence of magnesium, calcium and sodium.

“This is a discovery of extraordinary significance, and is bound to heighten speculation about the presence of living organisms (on Mars),” said Australian Astronomical Observatory’s Fred Watson, who was not involved in the research.

“Caution needs to be exercised, however, as the concentration of salts needed to keep the water liquid could be fatal for any microbial life similar to Earth’s,” added Watson.

The discovery was made using a radar instrument on board the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter, which was launched in 2003. – AFP