SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -Pure liquid water is unlikely to be present, even temporarily, on the surface of Mars because evaporation into the extremely dry atmosphere would inhibit the formation of the liquid phase, where the temperature and pressure are high enough so that water would neither freeze nor boil.

Detailed explanation-2: -The red planet once had a global ocean, rivers, and lakes. Then, the solar wind-charged particles from the Sun-stripped away the Martian atmosphere. As the planet’s protective shield faded, all liquid water on the surface evaporated into space, merged with minerals, or fled underground to become water ice.

Detailed explanation-3: -The results, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, provide the first independent line of evidence, using data other than radar, that there is liquid water beneath Mars’ south pole.

Detailed explanation-4: -Water ice is present at both of Mars’s poles. The northern polar ice cap contains the only visible water on the planet, while the southern pole covers its water with a frozen carbon-dioxide cap.