The latest news from the red planet is that it is a very cold and hard place, more so than previously thought. As a result, expectations that signs of life may exist close to the surface have all gone deep underground. According to the scientists, as a result of hard surface, liquid water may exist much deeper under the Martian crust than the current estimations.
This view was partially confirmed by the Mars reconnaissance orbiter, which confirmed the hardness of the Martian surface. The shallow radar on the orbiter clearly showed the Martian ice cap to be resting on the crust smoothly. On the earth, the crust sags gently under the weight of the ice caps, so this only confirms that the Martian lithosphere – the other crust is actually quite hard.
Although such a hard crust implies that liquid water may not be located at the surface, it seems likely that it will be found deeper within the surface. For the thick lithosphere implies that temperature deep within the planet is warm, warm enough to contain liquid water. Currently, the NASA’s Phoenix Lander is scheduled to land on Mars, near the Mars northern pole cap around the 25th of May. One of its main functions on Mars would be to dig around the pole cap for any evidence of water and its flow on the red planet. The entry point for the Phoenix would be at 13,000 mph and it’s landing would be closely monitored. But given the fact that not many spacecrafts have had a successful landing on the red planet, all fingers are crossed at NASA that it goes off without a hitch.
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