It is very likely that there are other lakes of liquid water on Mars: a scientist from UNAM



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The existence of macroscopic organisms is impossible, since they require more energy, which involves the use of oxygen and in the area there is anaerobic conditions.

After the discovery of a lake with liquid water on Mars by European scientists, fact that extends the possibility of life on the Red Planet, Rafael Navarro González, of the Institute of Nuclear Sciences (ICN) of UNAM, said the discovery was made in a region of the South Martian Pole, formed by many layers of ice and dust, with maximum depth 1.5 kilometers in an area of ​​20 kilometers in diameter. There, a particularly brilliant reflection of the sound waves detected by the MARSIS radar under the layers of the deposits has been identified.

Ph.D. in Chemistry by the University of Maryland and who collaborates with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) in the March Exploration, explained that to find the plan for the future. water, Italian scientists used the MARSIS radar (aboard the European Mars Express probe), which sends sound pulses to the surface of this planet to measure how long it takes to return to the ship as well as its intensity; "It took a long time to examine the different types of thinking."

Mars Express monitors the surface, but can not check the planet in its entirety. It has managed to map less than 10% of the South Pole surface; then, it is very likely that there is more body of liquid water that has not been explored, says the astrobiologist.

The discovery has important implications for science, since opens the possibility that there is life in the region, elsewhere it raises questions as to what the source would be. of energy that kept it going all this time?

According to a statement from UNAM, Navarro, collaborator of NASA's Curiosity Mission said that it is known that photosynthesis can not occur in the area being monitored because of the 39, thickness and depth of the ice cap, which does not allow the arrival of light. "The region would be completely black, and so, if there is a microbial life, it would be chemosynthetic that is, that it is taking over." energy from chemical reactions, such as methanogenic bacteria. "

] the existence of macroscopic organisms (as we know them) is impossible as they require more energy, which involves the use of oxygen , and in the region there are anaerobic conditions.

the entry of nutrients because the lake is completely closed; could not give the nutrient exchange and this limits the amount of biosphere that could exist.

The Mexican scientist pointed out that another unknown is to know which keeps the lake in liquid form . It is considered that the presence of salts is essential in conditions below zero degrees, but there could be hydrothermal vents or other types of energy

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