NASA astronaut explains the mission to Mars 3:12
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Two years ago, scientists detected what looked like a salty lake beneath the surface of the southern Mars ice sheet.
This led to the question of whether there is life on Mars.
Now, new research has found more evidence of the lake and also revealed several smaller salty "ponds" nearby, raising the possibility of life on the Red Planet.
In the new study, Italian scientists used the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft.
The radar covered a larger area of the Martian surface and collected additional data, allowing scientists to "confirm the liquid nature of the previously observed lake," the research team said in a statement.
They detect evidence of an underground lake on Mars
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They discover water on Mars
The scientists were able to gather more specific details about the lake.
For example, they estimate that it is approximately 30 by 20 kilometers in area.
"The presence of a subglacial lake could have important consequences for astrobiology and the presence of habitable niches on Mars," the statement added.
The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy, also said that the detection of "several other smaller patches of water" was particularly exciting.
The ponds, which the study describes as "patchy pools of water or smaller wet areas", are of different sizes and are separated from the main lake by strips of dry land.
The discovery is significant because it gives us a better idea of the climate of Mars and its chemical composition.
For example, the fact that the lake and surrounding ponds are still liquid suggests that they are "hypersaline," according to the study, meaning they contain a lot of salts.
This lowers the melting point, preventing the water from freezing despite the cold environment, and may have allowed them to "survive for an extended period of time on a geological scale."
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There is water on Mars!
And life?
Is there extraterrestrial life on Mars?
Of course, there is the question of extraterrestrial life.
A study last year suggested that 3 to 4 billion years ago, Mars, now cold and inhospitable, may have been warm enough.
That means it could have hosted torrential rains and running water, which would have created an environment that could support simple life.
As the temperatures later dropped, the water would freeze.
The latest research postulates that life on Mars might not simply be a thing of the past.
"The possibility of extended hypersaline bodies of water on Mars is particularly exciting because of the potential for microbial life," the study said.
If there really is life in these salty waters, it could take different forms.
Scientists speculated that there might be anaerobes (tiny organisms that don't need oxygen) or extremophiles, which can survive in extreme hot or cold conditions.
There could even be aerobes, organisms that require oxygen.
Salty brines like lakes or ponds contain six times the minimum amount of oxygen needed for microbes to breathe, according to the study.
"The bodies of water at the base of the (South Pole layered deposits) therefore represent areas of potential astrobiological interest and concern for planetary protection," the study concluded, urging future missions to Mars to target the region of polar lakes to collect additional data.
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