We are not talking about living organisms on the Red Planet yet.
Three underground lakes with water were detected near the South Pole of Mars using the radar of the automatic interplanetary station of the European Space Agency “Mars Express”.
This is reported by the BBC.
At the same time, we are not talking about the presence of living organisms on the Red planet — the scientists believe that the water in the Martian lakes is so salty that even the most persistent microbes will not survive.
It is known that on the surface of Mars water in its liquid form can not be due to too thin atmosphere and low temperature. The found lakes are located at a depth of about one and a half kilometers under the polar cap, which consists of ice and sand.
It is noted that previously one such lake has been found in 2018.
Scientists’ version of the high salinity of water in the found lakes is based on the fact that underground Mars temperature is significantly below freezing point. At this temperature, the water in the liquid state can remain only with a high content of salts.
The experiments showed that water saturated with salts of magnesium and calcium perchlorate turns into ice at -123 degrees.
The discovery was made with the help of Marsis radar onboard the orbital station “Mars Express”, which has been circulating around the Red Planet since December 2003.
