Discovery of More Ponds on Mars Hints at Possibility of Life

The three smaller water bodies join a previously discovered lake buried beneath ice at the red planet’s south pole.

Amanda Heidt

| 3 min read

Mars, astronomy, space, extraterrestrial life, extremophile, liquid water, south pole, radio waves, radar, satellite

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Two years after discovering a large, subterranean lake on Mars, a team of scientists has reaffirmed its original finding and identified three additional ponds using reflectance data from a spacecraft orbiting the planet. The results, published September 28 in Nature Astronomy, suggest that the red planet is home to several liquid bodies of water, kept from freezing due to their high salt content. If confirmed by further research, the south pole of Mars could become a strong target in the search for extraterrestrial life.

“Not only did we confirm the position, extent and strength of the [results] from our 2018 study, but we found three new bright areas” generated by the ponds, Elena Pettinelli, a geophysicist at Roma Tre University in Italy and a coauthor on the new study, tells BBC News.

Compared to Pettinelli and colleagues’ previous work, the new study includes a wider area, ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda was an associate editor at The Scientist, where she oversaw the Scientist to Watch, Foundations, and Short Lit columns. When not editing, she produced original reporting for the magazine and website. Amanda has a master's in marine science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and a master's in science communication from UC Santa Cruz.
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