There could be oceans on Mars that covered up to a third of the planet’s surface. This was reported by scientists from Switzerland and France, who examined data from the Mars Express mission of the European Space Agency (ESA).
A study of the surface of Mars showed the presence of many valleys, canyons and rivers, indicating that the planet previously had water. However, it was not clear how large the water system was.
Scientists from Switzerland and France took on the task of determining the size of a possible ocean on Mars. They used data from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument aboard the Mars Express.
Using this instrument, scientists were able to measure the thickness of the ice sheet at the north pole of Mars. Their calculations showed that if water were on Mars, it could cover up to a third of the planet’s surface.
However, scientists note that this is only a hypothesis and is not a definitive answer to the question about the size of the ocean on Mars. More research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.
Historical data shows that Mars was a hot and humid planet about 3.5 billion years ago. However, due to the lack of a magnetic field on the planet, the atmosphere of Mars was destroyed by the solar wind, resulting in the loss of water.
Many scientists believe that Mars was a viable planet in the past and so interest in exploring this planet is not waning. NASA recently launched the Mars 2020 mission, which should help scientists learn more about Mars and its history.
However, not all scientists agree that there was once life on Mars. Some experts believe that if life on Mars was possible, it would have had to have appeared at an earlier time in the planet’s existence.
