Giant lake found on Mars
Underground body of water gives hope for life on Red Planet
TAMPA: A massive underground lake has been detected for the first time on Mars, raising hopes that more water – and maybe even life – exists there, international astronomers said.
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 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 on Wednesday.
Mars is 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, as such discoveries are key to learning if 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.
A water source could also help
This suggests water on Mars is not a temporary trickle but a persistent body of water that provides the conditions for life for extended periods of time. Alan Duffy
humans survive on a future mission to Mars, with NASA aiming to send explorers in the 2030s.
This lake, however, would be neither swimmable nor drinkable, and it lies almost 1.6km beneath the icy surface in a harsh and frigid environment.
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.
“Caution needs to be exercised as the concentration of salts needed to keep the water liquid could be fatal for any microbial life similar to Earth’s,” said Fred Watson of the Australian Astronomical Observatory. — AFP