Do not pack your bags for Mars yet

Water is literally the elixir of life. Without it, no living organism can survive. This is the reason why the deserts of the Sahara and Atacama are barren wasteland.

When humans began to explore our planet, whenever they encountered a new island or valley, finding drinking water was their first point of order. And as we turn our attention to the sky, imagining a future in which intrepid explorers look in the solar system for places to live, the situation is pretty much the same. Celestial bodies with water will be the first places to colonize.

Thus, the recent announcement that the evidence of a lake of water was discovered on Mars captured the imagination of anyone who looked at our interplanetary and dreamed neighbor. If this discovery is verified, the possibility of successful human colonies on Mars has just taken a big step forward.

Media reports on discovery are everywhere, sometimes with flourishing claims, which raises new speculation about the probability of discovering life. on Mars and renew the excitement on future inhabited missions to the red planet. So which of these stories is reasonable and who is hype?

Well, the first thing to remember is that advances on the frontiers of scientific knowledge must be viewed with caution. This is a report, published by a strong and respectable team, but it would be wise to wait for confirmation before bursting bottles of champagne. And there is the disturbing fact that the SHARAD spacecraft, orbiting the planet on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, has not found water in the same area.

How did scientists make this discovery? Orbiter, researchers from the European Space Agency have transmitted radar waves to the surface of Mars. The radar is able to penetrate the ground. In fact, similar technology has been used here on Earth to find ancient and dry river beds under the Sahara and vestiges of ancient civilizations invisible to explorers walking on the ground.

As the satellite passed near the South Martian Pole, they saw reflections of depths beneath the surface of the planet that indicated the presence of liquid water. This water is not easily accessible; It is located about 1.5 kilometers below the surface.

It is not clear exactly how much water is involved. The first indications are that it is about a body of about 20 kilometers wide. It is not possible to know how deep it is, but it is at least three feet (one meter) thick. If these dimensions are correct, there is a considerable amount of water.

The temperature of this water is also important. It is extremely cold – -90 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 degrees Celsius). Normally the water at this temperature would be frozen ice, but the Martian surface has a plentiful reservoir of magnesium, calcium and sodium salts called perchlorates, which can keep liquid water at very low temperatures . Thus, this particular lake would be saltier than the oceans of the Earth. However, this is not an insurmountable problem for future explorers. If they can reach this water a mile underground, there are desalination techniques.

The existence of water on Mars is not a huge surprise. We have known for a long time that the surface of Mars was formerly much warmer and moist. Chemical tests carried out by previous probes and images of complex and dry river beds bear witness to this. In addition, the existence of ice below the surface of the planet has been reported by studies using other radars entering the ground

. What does this mean? chances of Martian life?

that Mars was able to shelter life, although it is by no means an accepted fact. However, the Martian climate has changed over the ages and the surface is now a dry, dead desert, with the surface constantly hammered by the deadly radiation of the sun. It is hard to imagine that we will find life on the surface of the planet.

But if Mars already had a complex ecosystem, it's easy to imagine that it would have moved back underground as surface conditions deteriorated. Here on Earth, we found bacteria in the rocks one or two miles below the surface. And while salt kills most of life (that's why it's such a good food preservative), there are so-called halophiles – salt-loving creatures that thrive in deadly environments for other organisms. In fact, there is a salt lake in Antarctica that does not freeze and is home to a thriving population of hardy bacteria.

So, while the existence of a salt lake deep underground on Mars is good news for those seeking extraterrestrial life, we are no closer to knowing if this life actually exists. Xenobiologists and UFO enthusiasts will have to wait a little longer for their Martians

Does this mean that humans could colonize Mars?

Well, it's clearly a positive sign. Water is crucial for a successful colony and, if a distant planetary body does not harbor it, astronauts will have to bring it with them.

According to NASA, astronauts need about half a gallon of water a day, although this figure relies heavily on recycling technology and water purification. So, the amount of water in these reports is a huge benefit for future explorers. However, there are some very important technical hurdles to overcome before accessing this water, it's something else than a chimera. We had to ship equipment capable of drilling a mile under the surface of Mars and then bringing it to a complex desalination plant. It is a daunting and enormously expensive undertaking, although it is probably resolved given the willingness and resources needed to accomplish it.

It is difficult to say what the implications of this discovery will be. In the short term, it is confirmed, it is an interesting scientific progress and there are probably other similar lakes to find. What this discovery could mean for the future is a little more murky. The liquid water on Mars opens the door to our understanding of the question of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe and makes it perhaps reasonable to talk about the colonization of the planet. But we are far from making further progress. [19659002] It's time to congratulate the scientific team and the European Space Agency for their impressive achievement. Tomorrow we will start thinking about what to do next.