A lake of liquid water has been discovered by Marsis, a radar instrument on board Esa’s Mars Express orbiter, on Mars.
An Italian team was scraching underneath the planet’s surface when they found below a block of ice a a stable body of liquid water on the red planet.
The researchers from the National Institute of Astrophysics in Bologna, stumbled upon this body of water a couple of years ago, but waited to make the discovery known before they were 100% sure (according astrophysics standards). After two years of careful examination, the only solution they were able to come up with seems to confirm the incredible discovery.
Roberto Orosei, a radioastronomer at the National Institute for Astrophysics, who led the investigation, was quoted saying that the radar Marsis bounced back what most certainly looks like “A lake, not some kind of meltwater filling some space between rock and ice, as happens in certain glaciers on Earth“.
The scientific discover was published on Science, before reaching every major media outlet. Talks and chats about life on Mars have reignited old debates, with all the scientists now looking underneath the surface for answers.
Mars, the closest planet to Earth, has always fascinated people for its proximity and similarity, so much so that countless movies have played with the idea of human colonization.
Unfortunately, scientific proofs show that life on Mars is not possible so far due to its low pressure and freezing temperature, that hits minus 0 degrees.
But the news about liquid water underneath the planet is opening up new exciting paths in the search for life outside of Earth. The discovery of water on Mars could lead astrobiologists in the right direction and finally provide some hints to the question we are all dying to ask: Will it be possible to live on Mars one day?
#Peace.Love.Mars
