Buried Lakes of Water Found on Mars

In 2018, scientists discovered the presence of a large saltwater lake underneath Mars’ southern pole. Though scientists were unable to completely confirm its presence at the time, they now have confirmation that the lake exists along with three others. All of which are trapped beneath more than one kilometre of ice. The discovery supports the theory that there is, or once was, water on Mars. And with this discovery, it could mean that Mars had once supported life and was covered in it’s own oceans and rivers. 

The discovery was made by scientists using an orbiting spacecraft called the Mars Express and the radar instrument it’s equipped with to probe beneath the surface of Mars. The scientists then were able to determine what was beneath the surface based of how the signals they sent bounced back. 

The lakes themselves are spread around an area that is around one-fifth the size of Germany. However, the lakes are extremely salty, making the water unfit for human consumption or more importantly, life to be living in the water. 

There is some doubt that the water trapped beneath the surface of Mars is really liquid. Mars is a cold planet with very little heat flow. Combined with its lack of atmosphere, it makes it hard for liquid water to exist on it. Without the proper heat source, it would be hard to get liquid water from the ice found on the surface of the lakes. Though some heat may be coming from within the planet, it isn’t enough to fully melt the water and what was found in the lakes could resemble slush more than a liquid. 

Despite the disagreement on whether or not there is truly liquid water on Mars, it’s still generally agreed that Mars once had water on its surface, long before whatever happened to make it the frozen wasteland we know today. And with that belief comes the idea that Mars could have been home to a vibrant ecosystem of its own millions of years ago. And though it’s hard to believe that something could survive in the salty lakes, life has proven itself to be resilient on Earth time after time. Until we know for sure, there could still be something alive beneath the frozen surface of Mars.