There may be a lake buried beneath the ice on the south pole of Mars, a new study has suggested.
Scientists found hints the lake existed back in 2018, but new evidence further supports their hypothesis. The lake could be as large as 18 miles across, and likely remains liquid due to geothermal heating, Time reports. The study's findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Water has been found on Mars before, but largely in the form of ice — so a liquid water source is a major revelation. The discovery was made by analyzing 2018 findings from the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft radar device, reports Time. In 2018, radar soundings conducted on an area of Mars known as Ultimi Scopuli suggested a large area of water under the ice. But these results were not enough to confirm the presence of a lake, as a number of other factors could have contributed to a false reading.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, by way of computer modeling, scientists have now come to the conclusion that a lake may indeed be present. The study ran simulations of various scenarios of depth and pressure, offering "independent support for the presence of basal water beneath Ultimi Scopuli," as stated in Nature Astronomy.
University of Cambridge's Neil Arnold, who lead the study, said in a statement, "It's exciting to use these techniques to find out things about planets other than our own."
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programsThe Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
NASA reveals ‘clearest sign of life’ on Mars yetSpeed Read The evidence came in the form of a rock sample collected on the planet
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Hurricanes are not exclusive to Earth. They can happen in space.Under the radar These storms may cause navigational problems
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Why does the US want to put nuclear reactors on the moon?Today's Big Question The plans come as NASA is facing significant budget cuts
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
