Mars may still have an active groundwater system deep below the surface, and could be feeding surface streams in some areas on the Red Planet, a study has found. Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) in the US determined that groundwater likely exists in a broader geographical area than just the poles of Mars. The scientists also provide an explanation on how these water features fluctuate with seasonality on Mars. The findings suggest that the exposed part of these ground fractures associated with these springs as the primary location candidates to explore Mars’ habitability. Previous research to explore groundwater on Mars relied on interpreting the returned electromagnetic echoes sent from the radar-probing experiments from orbit onboard Mars Express and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Source: The Hindu April 02, 2019 06:33 UTC