NASA is planning a return of astronauts to the moon, a mission envisioned as paving the way for a later journey carrying a crew to Mars. That research suggested that an underground "lake" of liquid water had pooled beneath frozen layers of sediment near the south pole — akin to the subglacial lakes detected beneath the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets on Earth. These reservoirs lie in shadowed regions called "cold traps" that sunlight can't reach. By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website. Water on Mars: Researchers discover 3 buried lakes on red planet Researchers have confirmed the presence of one large saltwater lake, which was discovered two years ago, and also found three more lakes hidden under the surface of Mars. "The main lake is surrounded by smaller bodies of liquid water, but because of the technical characteristics of the radar, and of its distance from the Martian surface, we cannot conclusively determine whether they are interconnected.". Liquid water is a key ingredient for life as we know it, although exotic chemistries for life based on hydrocarbons or carbon dioxide have also been proposed. And while the radar doesn't show what they're made of, they are probably "hypersaline" solutions — water saturated with perchlorate salts of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium — that keep them liquid at minus 90 degrees Fahrenheit and below, Pettinelli said. In a similar way, NASA is targeting the Moon’s south pole for a manned landing in 2024 because it is known to store large amounts of frozen water. He estimated that there are tens of billions of these "micro cold traps" surrounding the moon's poles. The existence of liquid water on Mars — one of the more hotly debated matters about our cold, red neighbor — is looking increasingly likely. The second study, also published in the journal Nature Astronomy, focused upon so-called cold traps on the moon, regions of its surface that exist in a state of perpetual darkness where temperatures are below -163C (-260F). The moon as viewed by NASA's Mariner 10 in 1973. Researchers have announced the discovery of molecular water on the moon's sunlit surface. What is on the Moon? An artist's rendering of the Mars Express, which used ground-penetrating radar to survey parts of Mars. The ExoMars mission is a joint operation between the European Space Agency (ESA) and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos. Dr Orosei said: "Salt in very high concentrations is not very friendly to life." Honniball doesn't know whether glass across the entire moon contains water — it could be specific to the region she studied. Those likely protect the H2O from the vaporizing powers of the sun. Finally, in 2018, scientists confirmed that water ice was sitting on the surface of the moon's poles. Published. Researchers tend to describe both compounds as "water," but the oxygen and hydrogen molecules that make up hydroxyl form a much stronger chemical bond than those in H2O. The first underground reservoir was found by MARSIS in 2018. That would mean that the underground reservoirs on Mars needn't be extremely salty to stay liquid, he said. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. Hayne's team did not look for water in these regions, but previous research had already confirmed the presence of water ice in the large shadows on the poles. Most of Mars is now arid, but water has survived in the form of ice on the planet’s polar caps, especially in the south. Water could be a crucial resource for astronaut missions to Mars, since ice can be converted into rocket fuel. DON’T MISSHow many animals have died in the Australian fires? Water on Mars, with a grain of salt: Local heat anomalies are required for basal melting of ice at the south pole today. Geophysical Research Letters . If there really are buried bodies of liquid water, they might be a prime spot where microbial alien life could survive on Mars, perhaps a remnant of the life that might have existed there billions of years ago if Mars had seas of water on its surface. These chemical salts (different to the stuff we sprinkle on our chips) can significantly lower water's freezing point.

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