They discover the first liquid water lake on Mars

Tampa, United States. – A huge underground lake has been detected for the first time on Mars, increasing the possibility of more water and perhaps even life, international astronomers said Wednesday.

Located beneath a layer of Martian ice, the lake is about 20 kilometers wide, said the report published in the journal Science and conducted by Italian researchers.
It is the largest body of liquid water that has been found on the red planet.

"The water is there and we have no doubt," said co-author Enrico Flamini, director of the Mars Express space mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), at a press conference.

Mars is now cold, arid and desert, but it was hot and humid and there was a lot of liquid water and lakes there at least 3,600 million years ago.

Scientists are eager to find the current signs of water, because such discoveries are essential to uncover the mystery of whether life existed on Mars in its ancient past or whether it could persist today.

( This NASA photo, dated June 7, 2018, shows a close-angle self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars vehicle at the site where he managed to drill a rock target called "Ante" on Mount Sharp, AFP)

"This is an amazing result that suggests that water on Mars is not a temporary stream of water, as has been revealed previous discoveries, but a persistent body of water that creates living conditions for a long time. "said Alan Duffy, associate professor at the University of Swinburne in Australia, who was not involved in the study.

Having the opportunity to access water sources could also help humans survive in a future inhabited mission to this planet next to Earth.

The water in this particular lake, however, would not be drinkable, and is located nearly 1.5 kilometers deep from the icy face in a hostile and icy environment.
If there are microbial life forms, it is a subject of debate.
Some experts are skeptical about this possibility because the lake is cold and brackish and contains a high dose of dissolved salts and minerals.
The temperature is probably below the freezing point of pure water, but it can remain liquid due to the presence of magnesium, calcium and sodium.

"This is a discovery of extraordinary importance, which will increase speculation about the presence of living organisms on the red planet," said Fred Watson of the # 39; Australian Astronomical Observatory.
"However, caution should be exercised, since the concentration of salts needed to maintain liquid water could be fatal to any microbial life similar to that on Earth," added Watson, who was not involved in research.

(This illustration shows the Mars Express ship in a survey of the south pole of Mars, the radar signals appear on the left.)

Radar Detection [19659002] The discovery was made at Using radar instruments from the Mars Express probe from the European Space Agency (AEA), launched in 2003.
The tool called Advanced Radar for Research on the Ionosphere and Mars Subsurface (MARSIS) and was designed to find groundwater by sending radar pulses that penetrate the surface and the layers of ice.

Confirmation Necessary

"This is the first water plane that has been detected, so it's very exciting," he said. AFP David Stillman, researcher at the Department of Space Studies. from the Southwest Research Institute in Texas, in an email.

However, Stillman, who also did not participate in the research, said that there is a need for another probe or instruments to confirm the finding.