The Mars water theory confirms the existence of water on the Red Planet today in the form of water ice deposits.
A recent discovery of a Martian region in the southern Pole apparently illuminated bright watery reflections.
However, a new study led by the Cornell University warned astronauts not to be deceived by the radar reflections that led other experts to believe it as a sign of liquid water.
Instead, Cornell scientists suggested it could be geological layers rather than liquid water.
In recent years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) were amongst the space agencies that confirmed the existence of liquid water on Mars.
However, not all reflections on the Martian surface signifies the presence of H20.
Radar Watery Reflections
The new research was published in the journal Nature Astronomy on September 26, explaining the bright radar reflections below the South Pole of Mars has no liquid water.
The research points out that layering, not liquid, are the reflections being seen by astronomers when they gaze into their observation tools, including NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter image of the Martian South Pole Layered Deposit.
The study does not dispute the fact that there is a presence of water, but in a frozen form in many places on Mars, including on both northern and southern polar ice caps.
However, the recent detection of bright reflections under the surface of the Martian South Pole Layered Deposit was believed to be a 1.4-kilometer area with thick formation of pure water ice deposits by the ESA's Mars Express orbiter.
During a news release by Cornell University, it was revealed that some scientists interpreted the said observations, collected by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument, as plausible evidence of liquid water.
The Cornell authors, including research associate Dan Lalich, said such interpretation is possible but does not mean it is absolute.
Also Read: New Study Disputes Conventional Theory on Mars' Water
Geological Layers
In particular, Lalich and other Cornell researchers argue the shiny reflections are not necessarily evidence that the said Martian region contain liquid water.
Instead, the research team explained the strong reflections could be generated by interference between geological layers, containing no liquid water or other rare materials like minerals.
Lalich said he used CO2 layers embedded om the water because they know it already exists in vast quantities near the surface of the ice cap, as cited by Cornell Chronicle; which also showed that the models allowed the researchers to determine that the thickness of the geological layers and their distance with each other have a more significant impact on reflection power than its composition.
Mars Water Theory
The debunking of the underground liquid water on the Red Planet's South Pole could help instead of misleading astronauts when they embark on the Martian landscape in the next decade, wherein they will need access to water in order to survive, according to the space and astronomy news site Universe Today.
While the said phrase "follow the water" may not always apply, it is still a crucial notion amid the ongoing exploration of Mars.
In the past several decades, astronomers have discovered Martian water exists as ice today, a sign when the planet was covered by oceans, lakes, and rivers similar to Earth billions of years ago.
Related Article: Glaciers on Mars Boast Enough Water to Flood Entire Planet