The liquid water on Mars opens a new period in Martian exploration



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The evidence presented by Italian researchers on the presence of liquid water in March is "convincing" but does not imply the existence of life, although it increases the chances of finding it in the form of microorganisms. According to researchers consulted by the agency Efe if any form of organisms was found, these would be "true champions of resistance".

Although it is a question of conditions on Mars similar to those of the Earth for the formation of life – liquid water, organic compounds and salts -, the climatic and / or salinity characteristics of March are extreme, so if there are microorganisms they would be "very peculiar and besides, if there were any, their discovery would become" the most important in the history of the 39, humanity "and have implications not only in fundamental science, but also in philosophy or religion.

Efe researchers Víctor Parro and Alberto González Fairén, Spanish Center for Astrobiology (CAB) , who is dedicated to the study of the origin, evolution and presence of life in the Universe.

Convincing videos

This n is not the first time that the scientific community and the media are talking about water on Mars, but it's the pr first time that data on liquid and running water are published, not on the redoubts of the past.

For the scientist, the MARSIS radar signal from the European Mars Express probe that discovered it "is unmistakable" and "tells us that in March there is Liquid water ". However, says Parro, this is not a definitive confirmation, but a "convincing proof" that this underground lake may exist. The researchers believe that it is an incredible moment in planetary exploration.

According to data presented and published in Science this lake would be under 1.5 kilometers of ice, it would extend for about 20 kilometers and it would have a thickness of only one meter. It would be salty too. We should not think of a liquid, crystalline lake like those on Earth, but rather, they both coincide in brine or in a quagmire. "The peculiarity of this work is that it speaks of stable and permanent water," says Parro.

The Possibilities of Finding Life

With this discovery, they increase the chances of finding life in March which, if it exists, should withstand extreme temperatures and a huge concentration of salt. On Earth, microorganisms capable of metabolizing and growing up to -20 degrees in brine have been identified and it is not known if this limit can be exceeded.

The two astrobiologists, who point out that at present there is no technology to reach south pole of Mars and in the depths where these proofs were found, but in other places -Tropical and Ecuador- where evidence of large ice caps appeared two meters below the surface and where you could look for "small pockets" of water. (EFE)

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