Highlight Lecture 1 MARSIS: the Successful Search for Liquid Water on Mars

The 70th International Astronautical Congress - IAC 2019, to take place from 21 - 25 October in Washington D.C., United States will feature on Tuesday 22 October 2019, in the frame of the IAC Industry Day, from 18:00 – 19:00, a Highlight Lecture by Enrico Flamini, Former Chief Scientist, Italian Space Agency (ASI) on the topic of 'MARSIS: the Successful Search for Liquid Water on Mars'.

The recent finding of evidences of the presence of liquid water in the depths of the Martian South Polar Layered Deposits occurs after almost a decade of analysis of the data produced by the two sounding Italian lead radar around Mars. The case for Mars is intriguing due to the role that water has surely played in the shaping of the present aspect of the planet, and for the role that the presence of water had for the possible insurgence of life forms. Water, liquid or as ice, is a central element for the future of Mars exploration being the main resource needed in the case of the human exploration. Sounding radars are now considered the best technology to assess remotely the presence, amount and nature of water ice also under the Martian surface. Radars are key instruments for the present and future of planetary exploration.