Satellite data has picked up evidence of a lake on the south polar ice cap of Mars, covered under a thick layer of ice. Though water has been found on the red planet in the past, this is the first time the water isn’t frozen or seasonal. NASA’s Curiosity Rover had found that liquid water does flow intermittently on Mars and it also detected that water had existed there in the past, but if water is still there, it would mean it has likely been constant throughout Mars’ 4.6 billion year history. If that’s the case, the possibility of life is much more likely.

The discovery was made by Italian scientists who were analysing images from a Mars Express spacecraft. Professor Roberto Orosei from the University of Bologna described the new finding as being “Anomalously bright subsurface reflections are evident within a well-defined 20-kilometre-wide zone.. which is surrounded by much less reflective areas. Quantitative analysis of the radar signals shows that this bright feature has high relative dielectric permittivity (electrical polarisation) matching that of water-bearing materials. We interpret this feature as a stable body of liquid water on Mars.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlqYB6Yghle/?hl=en&tagged=lakeonmars

All that’s left is for space authorities to definitively confirm the body of water is there so they can really begin the search for life on Mars. Since the water beneath the surface of the Martian south pole may be as low as 30 Celsius, it’s not too cold for life to survive. We do not know for sure if it is inhabited, but it’s a very promising place to look for life.

Featured Image Credits: Instagram/nasa

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