Salty ponds may be under Mars’ icy surface

admin September 29, 2020 Daily Current Affairs

A network of salty ponds may be gurgling beneath Mars’ South Pole alongside a large underground lake, raising the prospect of tiny, swimming Martian life.
Italian scientists reported their findings Monday, two years after identifying what they believed to be a large buried lake.
They widened their coverage area by a couple hundred miles, using even more data from a radar sounder on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter.
Estimated to be 12 miles to 18 miles (20km to 30km) across and buried 1 mile (1.5km) beneath the icy surface.
They’ve also identified three smaller bodies of water surrounding the lake.
These ponds appear to be of various sizes and are separate from the main lake.
Roughly 4bn years ago, Mars was warm and wet, like Earth. But the red planet eventually morphed into the barren, dry world it remains today.
All this potential water raises the possibility of microbial life on – or inside – Mars. High concentrations of salt are likely keeping the water from freezing at this frigid location.
The surface temperature at the South Pole is an estimated minus 172F (minus 113C), and gets gradually warmer with depth.