This is big news. While evidence has been mounting for the presence of water in a liquid state on Mars for some time, it has now been confirmed. A sub-glacial lake of liguid water, although briny (high salt content) exists under the north pole of the planet. An instrument on the European probe Mars Express, called MARSIS, uses a radar sounder to penetrate the surface of the planet and provide the data needed for analysis. A study of three years worth of collected data from the probe, led by Roberto Orosei of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics , has concluded that a 20km square body of water exists.
NASA has been "following the water" in its exploration of the planet and now they have a target. It's easy to imagine engineers and project managers are already plotting ways to go see what's there. We get a lot of tantalizing news bites regarding the possibility of life on Mars, even if only microbial, but this discovery is a huge step toward finding some. It's a big deal.
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