Scientists from the University of Texas at Austin have recently discovered another promising feature on Mars. As the search for further information continues, experts have revealed that that they have found a strange looking formation of what they consider as remains of an ancient "ice cauldron." It was believed that this ice cauldron has the ability to provide a warm, chemical rich and life-friendly environment.
Could An "Ice Cauldron" Signify Life?
According to The Sun, the funnel-shaped depression is located inside a crater perched on the rim of the Hellas basin region of Mars. The region is allegedly believed to have hosted a giant lake at some point in the Red Planet's past. Furthermore, the features of the landscape suggest it was rich in both glaciers and volcanic activity. Experts believe that it was because of the interaction between the ice and the lava which could have been the source for a microbial life to take place.
A number of reports have revealed that experts had admittedly said that they are not certain as to whether or not the ice cauldron was originally due to a volcano or a meteor impact. However, they highly emphasized that the discovery of the Hellas depression, which is found to be similar to the features of Galaxias Fossae depression, should be a landmark study in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Discovery Of Hellas Depression Is Foundation Of Future Researches
In one of his statements released by The Space Reporter, lead study author Joseph Levy of the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics has claimed that the discovery of these landforms had actually surprised them to a point that it led to a lot of speculations as to whether it meant there was the occurrence of melting that is concentrated in the center; which in turn, has allowed the removal of ice and has allowed other substances to pour in from the sides.
On the other hand, Gro Pedersen, a volcanologist at the University of Iceland who was not involved with the study, agrees that these depressions discovered could hold a number of promising sites for future research.
