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By Kerry SHERIDAN
Tampa (AFP) – A huge underground lake was detected for the first time on Mars, raising the hope that more water – and maybe even life – exists, according to international astronomers. According to the report of the American journal Science, it is the largest mass of liquid water ever found on the red planet
. At a press conference, co-author Enrico Flamini, head of the Mars Express mission of the Italian Space Agency, said:
Mars is now cold, arid and dry, but it was hot and humid. There was at least 3.6 billion years of liquid water and lakes.
Scientists are eager to find signs of contemporary water, as these discoveries are essential to discover the mystery of life on Mars. "
" It's an amazing result that suggests that water on Mars is not a temporary net like the previous discoveries, but a persistent water mass that provides the conditions of life for long periods of time, "said Alan Duffy, associate professor at the University of Swinburne in Australia, who was not involved in the study.
Being able to access water sources could also help humans survive during a future crewed mission on the neighboring planet. in the 2030s.
This particular lake, however, would be neither swimmable nor potable, and it lies nearly a mile deep (1.6 kilometers) below the icy surface in a harsh environment and glacial. 9659003] The question of whether microbial forms of life could be found in the interior is a matter of debate
Some experts are skeptical about the possibility since the lake is so cold and brackish, mixed with a high dose of dissolved Martian salts and minerals. The temperature is probably 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, which can only increase speculation about the presence of living organisms on the red planet", said Fred Watson of the Australian Astronomical Observatory
. because the concentration of salts needed to keep liquid water could be fatal for any microbial life similar to that of the Earth, "added Watson, who was not involved in the research.
Radar Detection
The discovery was made using a radar instrument embarked on the Mars Express orbiter of the European Space Agency, launched in 2003.
L & # 39; instrument is called the Mars Advanced Radar for the Subsurface and Ionospheric Survey (MARSIS) .The sending of radar pulses that penetrate the surface and ice caps.
MARSIS "then measures how radio waves are propagate and reflect towards the spacecraft, "says the study.
These reflections" provide scientists with information about what lies beneath the surface. "
A team of researchers led by Roberto Orosei of the National Institute of Astrophysics of Bologna (Italy) studied an area called Planum Austral, located in the southern ice cap of Mars, from May 2012 to December 2015.
29 sets of radar samplings showed a "very abrupt change in its associated radar signal," allowing scientists to map the contours of the lake.
"The radar profile of this area is similar to that of the liquid water lakes found beneath the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland on Earth, suggesting that there is a subglacial lake at this location on Mars, "says the report
The researchers said that they are not sure of the distance that separates them, but that it can be about one meter deep.
Confirmation needed
"This is the first He was in charge by water, which is very exciting, "David Stillman, principal investigator in the Department of Space Studies at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, told AFP.
However, Stillman, who was not involved in the research, said that another spacecraft, or other instruments, needed to be able to confirm the discovery.
He noted that a higher frequency radar instrument made by the Italian space agency SHARAD, aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched in 2005, was unable to detect groundwater .
"It's strange that SHARAD can not confirm this discovery because SHARAD can not cross the ice here and no one understands why" This suggests that something strange is happening here, so I am skeptical about this discovery. "
But researchers are excited by the potential for future discoveries, because so liquid "There is nothing special about this place if it's only the Mars probe MARSIS radar Express is the most sensitive to this region, "said Duffy
." There are probably similar w "
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said on Twitter that the discovery culminated in a fundamental questions of existence
"On Earth, where there is water, there is life, maybe we are not alone."
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