American astronomer Percival Lowell popularised the idea that there are channels crossing the surface of Mars, carrying water from the poles in the nineteenth century.
The best available telescopic probe image in 1960s showed channels like a mirage on Mars. No water could remain on Mars surface due to a Low temperature of Mars and the weak pressure of its thin atmosphere. In 2006, a new study found the seasonal changes of a pair of Martian craters have led astronomers to suggest, that there can be a small amount of liquid water on the surface. The water can be in bubble form on the surface during the Martian summer.
However, over a decade later, this hypothesis remains unproven.
In an article published by Roberto Orosei from the National Institute of Astrophysics in Italy in journal Science on July 25, reported the discovery of lakes of liquid water 20 km in diameter buried 1.5 km beneath the surface of Mars, near its southern polar ice cap. The lake seems Martian cousin of the earth’s Lake Vostok, an underground lake in Antarctica.
Different radar waves are archived with different materials. The team uses radar sensors on the spacecraft ‘Mars Express’ to explore the area, 200 km South of the Arctic plains of the planet. After collecting data for more than three years, Dr Orosei felt quite confident in asserting that water is the only explanation of the evidence found.
The fact that the lake is underground, is the key to its conservation, says Suzanne Spencer, a planetary scientist from the Open University in the UK.
Also Read: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to Sun launched in second attempt