MARSIS finds Martian Mare!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Mars probe finds clues to vast ocean

It no longer comes as any surprise to people that there is water on Mars, We know there are vast amounts of underground ice at the poles and water frost through much of the surface.

But despite geological features such as valleys that were clearly carved by running water, plus the presence of surface deposits left by the stuff, there is still some controversy over whether the Red Planet ever had vast seas like Earth today.

Now fresh clues have arrived from Mars Express, the European Space Agency’s orbiting probe. Its powerful radar, MARSIS, has produced what the agency is describing as strong evidence for an ancient ocean that once covered part of Mars. The radar picked out sediments that are reminiscent of an ocean floor and which are bordered by shorelines previously been identified by surface studies.

MARSIS has been collecting data since 2005 and the information was analysed by a team led by Jérémie Mouginot, of the Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) and the University of California, Irvine.

Their studies reveal that the northern plains of Mars are covered in a low-density material which appears to have been left by an ancient sea. Announcing the find, Dr Mouginot said: “We interpret these as sedimentary deposits, maybe ice-rich. It is a strong new indication that there was once an ocean here.”

Continues...