New research based on seismic measurements from NASA’s Mars InSight lander suggests that there may be enough water hidden in the cracks of underground rocks beneath the surface of Mars to form an ocean. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, were made by researchers at the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The water, located 11.5km to 20km beneath the surface, is believed to have collected billions of years ago when Mars had rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans. Lead scientist Vashan Wright stated that the ingredients for life as we know it exist in the Martian subsurface if the interpretations are correct. The researchers used computer models and InSight data to determine that underground water was the most likely explanation for the seismic readings.
InSight Lander, NASA’s first craft dedicated to studying Mars’s interior, collected data before shutting down in 2022. The findings could lead to confirming the presence of water and seeking out potential signs of microbial life on Mars. The researchers believe that if InSight’s location at Elysium Planitia near Mars’s equator is representative of the rest of the planet, the underground water could fill a global ocean 1-2km deep.
Scientists have been analysing the data in search of more information about Mars’s interior. It is believed that Mars lost its surface water more than 3 billion years ago as its atmosphere thinned, turning it into the dry planet known today. The new findings provide insights into Mars’s past geological history and the potential for life on the red planet.
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