Two years ago, the discovery of a saltwater lake under the ice at Mars’ South Pole was made. However, alongside it being exciting, it also was challenging for some scientists to get through with it at that time. However, the confusion now seems to get to rest with the discovery being confirmed.
Saltwater Lake – The discovery was confirmed by the European Agency’s Mars orbiting spacecraft, Mars Express. Apart from this, three other underground saltwater lakes have also been discovered by the orbiter. Mars Express has been orbiting Mars since 2003, with a focused mission of searching for sub-surface water using the Mars Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS), a radar instrument.
The four lakes cover an area of 75,000 square kilometers or about 46,600 square miles. The biggest one being in the center is about 18 miles wide whereas the three smaller ones surrounding it are about two miles wide. Dr. Orosei the investigator for the experiment told BBC that, ‘By finding more of these bodies of water, this means its something different. It’s not a unique phenomenon, it’s not a unicorn. It’s something that must be occurring rather naturally.’
He also believes that these lakes can contain life. However, we’re not quite sure if the lakes happen to contain anything apart from salt. This may be a long way to discovering it out but nonetheless it shall be one amazing lookout.
