Scientists have found the Grand Canyon of Mars, and also in these inscriptions there is a large amount of water, according to the European Space Agency.
According to CNN, the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft, launched in 2016, discovered water in Valles Marineris on the Red Planet.
The water was located below the valley system. The result was captured and archived between May 2018 and February 2021.
“Using (Trace Gas Orbiter), we can look down a meter below this layer of dust and see what’s really going on beneath the surface of Mars, and most importantly, identify water-rich ‘oases’ that cannot be detected using the ‘oases’,” the lead researcher said.
There are higher temperatures near the equator on Mars, so researchers believe there must be a special set of conditions that allow water to survive and renew itself.
“We discovered that a central part of Valles Marineris was full of water, and much more water than we expected. This is very similar to permafrost regions on Earth, where water ice persists permanently under dry soil due to constant low temperatures.”
The discovery at Valles Marineris highlights the feature as a potential place for human exploration for years to come.
“Knowing more about how and where water is on Mars today is essential to understanding what happened to water that was once abundant on Mars, and helps us search for habitable environments, possible signs of past life, and organic matter from the early days of Mars,” said Colin Wilson, project scientist. ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, in a statement.
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