WASHINGTON — A new research paper has found more radar data suggesting the presence of huge lakes under the surface of Mars. <br /><br />However, the new data is problematic, as it shows many of these so-called lakes are in areas too cold for water to remain liquid, and ice does not reflect radar like liquids do. Here are the details:<br /><br />In a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, NASA scientists say much more liquid water may lie beneath the south pole of Mars than scientists had thought — or there may be something going on inside Mars that they don't fully understand. <br /><br />In 2018, researchers found radar evidence of a big subsurface lake under the planet's south pole. <br /><br />They later found evidence for three more underground lakes in that area. Now, a different NASA team has taken a very deep dive into the same probe's radar data. <br /><br />The team found dozens of radar reflections similar to the four that had been interpreted as buried lakes. <br /><br />But many of the newfound signals were spotted relatively close to the surface, in places seemingly too cold to support liquid water. <br /><br />The new study's researchers say they're not certain whether these signals are liquid water or not, but they appear to be much more widespread than what the original study found. <br /><br />They say that, either liquid water is common underneath Mars' south pole, or the signals are indicating something else.<br /><br />The researchers based their findings on a deep dive into the same data set provided by the MARSIS probe that the original study used in 2018. <br /><br />They say they can't explain what exactly the newly found MARSIS reflections mean. However, they hope their results will not remain mysterious for long.<br /><br />In the paper, the researchers said: "Our mapping gets us a few steps closer to understanding both the extent and the cause of these puzzling radar reflections."
