This environment is unlikely to be suitable for life, but in the past, the Red Planet may have had all the necessary conditions.
A group of British scientists presented their new study, which claims that there is liquid water under the southern ice cap of Mars, writes the Daily Mail.
Experts used measurements of the ice cap’s surface shape using spacecraft instruments. So they tried to find patterns there in its height. The researchers then created computer models to figure out what might affect the change in ice sheet height.
According to the results, the ice cap on Mars has height deviations in some parts and this can be explained by the presence of subglacial lakes with liquid water, like on Earth.
Scientists believe that liquid water beneath the ice on Mars still exists. It does not freeze due to the fact that geothermal activity continues on the Red Planet. Thus, a higher temperature is maintained under the surface of the ice sheet.
“Subglacial lakes exist on Mars, but this does not mean that there is life there today. This water is too salty even for microbes. But it is possible that there were living organisms on Mars in the past when the climate in planet is different,” said Francis Butcher of the University of Sheffield.
Recall that earlier scientists created a new map of Mars, which showed which surfaces of the Red Planet were covered with water.
Source of life. Lakes of liquid water found on Mars
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Source: korrespondent
