Year in Review Planetary Science

A buried lake on Mars excited and baffled scientists

Liquid water under so much ice is a hard sell, and only one of two orbiters has detected it

Mars south pole

HIDDEN DEPTHS  Layers in the ice near Mars’ south pole, shown here in a 2012 composite image from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter, could conceal a briny lake buried 1.5 kilometers below the surface.

ESA, DLR, FU BERLIN, Bill Dunford

By Lisa Grossman

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