New research based on seismic measurements from NASA’s Mars InSight lander suggests that there may be enough water hiding in underground rocks beneath the surface of Mars to form an ocean. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed data from more than 1,300 marsquakes detected by the InSight lander before it shut down in 2022.
Lead scientist Vashan Wright from the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, along with Matthias Morzfeld and Michael Manga, combined computer models with InSight data to conclude that underground water was the most likely explanation for the seismic readings. The water, located in fractures 11.5km to 20km beneath the surface, is believed to have collected billions of years ago when Mars had rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Wright noted that if InSight’s location at Elysium Planitia near Mars’s equator is representative of the whole planet, the underground water could potentially fill a global ocean 1-2km deep. Confirming the presence of water and searching for signs of microbial life would require drills and other equipment.
The study adds to scientists’ understanding of Mars’s interior and its evolution from a wet planet over 3 billion years ago to the dry, dusty world it is today. It is theorized that much of the planet’s ancient water either escaped into space or remains buried below the surface. The new findings raise the possibility of microbial life existing in the Martian subsurface, given the presence of water and energy sources.
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