The Mars Express spacecraft reveals that planet Mars could be covered by an ocean up to 2.7 meters deep

The radar of the Mars Express spacecraft, of the European Space Agency (ESA) continues to surprise with its new data. This mission, focused on greater learning on the red planet, has focused on exploring under the surface of the planet, finding a big surprise in his Ecuador.

Radar data has revealed that, under the dry layer that makes up the surface of Mars, there is a layer thick water tanksgreat blocks that make up the Medusae Fossae (MFF) formation of the red planet.

The Medusae Fossae (MFF) formation of Mars a characteristic sculpted by the wind, which is possibly the largest source of dust on the planet. In fact, it is the largest sedimentary deposit on the planet and extends discontinuously For more than 50.00 kilometers, an area of ​​the size of Indiaasza Europa Press.

The formation is found along the limit between the highlands of southern Mars and the lowlands of the north and is between the two most prominent volcanic regions of the planet (Tharsis and Elysium). It also contains the Eumenides Dorsum mountain range, whose edges can be seen in the soft elevation that extends from the lower right of the frame.

Frozen water in the mff

The new data reveal that this Mars layer contains a secret: they have found an upper layer of dust that covered what seems to be a thick layer of water -rich deposits in water, as they collect from the specialized environment Meteored.

These ice -rich ware a water ocean of 2.7 meters deep.

In case the dust layer was 600 meters thick, the ice layer would be thinner and the total volume of water ice contained in the MFF deposits would be 220,000 cubic km. Thus, if these ice blocks melted, it would be enough water to cover Mars with A 1.5 -meter deep water ocean.

The study has been conducted by researchers from the Natural History Museum of London and the Open University of England, which also focuses on the evidence that there has been or there is a presence of water on the surface due to stratified deposits that contain clay minerals , formed by the interaction of water with the rocks for millions of years.