Largest volcano in Mars estimated to have tonnes of water beneath

 

Other than Earth, there is the possibility of life on any planet?  Scientists have been researching this for many years.  Water is one of the conditions for the existence of life.  Scientists have already said that water exists on the red planet Mars.  Now a study has revealed that the highest volcano on Mars has water in the form of ice.  The amount is staggering.  About one and a half lakh tons.  The paper by an international team of researchers has been published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

 This layer of ice forms 13.5 miles above the surface of Mars.  Volcanic regions, including Olympus Mons, the highest volcano on Mars, have thin layers of ice.  This layer forms daily before sunrise during the Red Planet's cold season.  This is the first time scientists have found water in the form of ice on Mars' equator.  Earlier, scientists thought there was no possibility of ice sheets due to thin atmosphere and intense sunlight.  "We thought it was impossible to have such a layer," said Adomas Valantinus of the research team.  Now they think that there was probably snow in the area earlier.  Scientists have been researching for five years.  They have come to this conclusion by looking at data and 30,000 images from the European Space Agency and the Mars Express Orbiter.

 Scientists say that this ice layer lasts for a while before the sun rises.  Then it evaporates as the sun shines.  The ice layer is very light.  and occupying large areas of Mars.  The amount of that ice layer is one and a half lakh tons.  That is equal to the water of 60 Olympic swimming pools.

 The researchers believe that this discovery could be important for new studies of the existence of water on the Red Planet.  And may also help in the future search for life on Mars.