Italian scientists have discovered a lake of liquid water beneath the southern polar ice cap of Mars,.... raising the possibility of finding life on the red planet.
Ro Aram has the details.

Up until now there have been possible signs of intermittent liquid water flowing on the surface on Mars.
But the latest discovery is the first sign of a permanent body of water on Mars in the present day.
The finding was reported in the journal Science on Wednesday and is the result of radar echoes picked up by an instrument on a spacecraft that has been orbiting the red planet for 15 years.
Researchers spent at least two years examining the data to make sure they had detected water, and not ice or another substance.

"We saw that the bright reflections we were observing, no matter what you think, is within the South polar layer deposits might not be explained by dry material. We came thus to the conclusion that the only possible explanation for the bright reflection was the presence of liquid water."

The pool is said to be about 20 kilometers wide and located about one and a half kilometers beneath the ice surface.
Researchers noted that the lake's ice-cold temperatures and high levels of salt create a harsh environment for any living organism.
But they didn't completely rule out the possibility of life as microbes here on Earth have been able to adapt to similar environments.
In order to find out whether there is life below the ice cap, scientists will have to send a robot that is able to drill through the thick layer of ice that covers the lake.
Ro Aram, Arirang News.