EXPERT REACTION: Huge reservoir of liquid water found under Mars' south pole
Our celestial red neighbour Mars has been giving us hints every so often about the presence of water on its otherwise barren wastelands; researchers from Italy finally cracked the planet's crusty shell and have found a massive reservoir of liquid water hiding underground. The team poked at the polar ice caps with radar and say they found a lake that stretches about 20 kilometres across, 1.5 kilometres deep. They add that the lake was likely able to stay liquid due to salts from Martian rocks dissolving into the water, coupled with the incredible pressure of the ice above.
Journal/conference: Science
Link to research (DOI): 10.1126/science.aar7268
Organisation/s: Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy
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Expert Reaction
These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.
Mr Warwick Holmes is the Executive Director of Space Engineering in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, at the University of Sydney
Associate Professor Bruce Schaefer Deputy Director of MU Planetary Research Centre, Earth and Planetary Sciences, at Macquarie University