Mud lake found on Mars that may hide signs of life

Planetary scientists have discovered traces of an ancient mud lake on Mars - in an area called Hydraotes Chaos. Signs of former life may be hidden in the dried crust of a patchy area. Their study This was published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

According to the generally accepted theory, surface waters on the Red Planet froze about 3.7 billion years ago. It was then that its atmosphere thinned and its surface cooled. But groundwater may have remained liquid for a long time, residing in huge underground chambers. They could have been inhabited by any forms of life that would have left traces of their existence.

Approximately 3.4 billion years ago, this underground system collapsed. This resulted in floods of incredible proportions, which brought mountains of sediment to the surface. This is how a mud lake with boiling water was formed.

This conclusion is confirmed by the relatively smooth circle found in the images in the middle of the landscape chaos that Hydraotes Chaos is characterized by. This also suggests that the liquid was not formed as a result of a flood, but rose from below.

Computer modeling confirmed that beneath the surface of the study area there could be a reservoir of water rich in biosignatures. But the most interesting thing is that the discovered deposits should only be about 1.1 billion years ago.

Now planetary scientists want to find out what exactly lies beneath the surface of this dry lake. If they succeed, they will be able to accurately determine the period of existence of life on the planet.