The discovery was made using Marsis, or the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding, which is onboard the Mars Express spacecraft sent by the European Space Agency to orbit around Mars. The instrument sends radar pulses that can penetrate the surface and ice caps of Mars. In the new study, researchers led by Elena Pettinelli from Roma Tre University used techniques borrowed from Earth satellites to study the lakes beneath Antarctic glaciers. “For this reason, they could still retain traces of any life forms that could have evolved when Mars had a dense atmosphere, a milder climate and the presence of liquid water on the surface, similar to the early Earth." The study, “Multiple subglacial water bodies below the south pole of Mars unveiled by new Marsis data,” is published in Nature Astronomy.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 28, 2020 20:15 UTC