Key Takeaways
1. In 2015, ESA’s Mars Express Orbiter captured an image of the ice cap at Mars’ south pole, leading to further investigation of potential liquid water beneath it.
2. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter used a special technique called the very large roll technique to study the area in depth.
3. The Shallow Radar (SHARAD) detected a weak signal, suggesting that liquid water may not be present under the ice cap.
4. Researchers now believe that the bright signal from 2018 may have originated from a smooth rock layer, not an underground lake.
5. Future exploration using the very large roll technique will focus on other regions of Mars to locate accessible water for potential astronaut missions.
In 2015, ESA’s Mars Express Orbiter took a photograph of the ice cap located at Mars’ south pole. Three years afterwards, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) instrument aboard the spacecraft caught a bright signal emanating from that region. This signal led scientists to think there might be a lake lying underneath the ice.
NASA’s Investigation
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) returned to the site. After a lengthy period of attempting to investigate the depths, researchers finally managed to figure it out using a method known as the very large roll technique. This approach involves rolling the spacecraft by 120 degrees, allowing the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument on MRO to gather signals from beneath the icy surface.
New Findings
Curiously, SHARAD detected a weak signal. The weakness of this signal suggests that liquid water is probably not lurking under the ice cap. The researchers involved in this study proposed that the underground lake previously thought to exist might actually just be a layer of dust and rock. They theorized that the bright signal noted by MARSIS in 2018 could have originated from a particularly smooth rock beneath the ice.
The plan for the scientists is to apply the very large roll technique to explore other regions beneath Mars’ surface, such as the Medusae Fossae. These explorations could be vital in identifying locations with accessible water, which would be perfect for future astronaut missions. This research was detailed in a paper published on November 17 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
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