According to a team of geophysicists, water on Mars is not just like ice at its poles or steam in its atmosphere. There are scientists found evidence Deep in the outer shell of liquid water, based on analysis of data provided by NASA Mars Insight Lander. Specifically, they analyzed four years of ground motions recorded by the lander’s seismometer. By looking at seismic velocities, or how fast seismic waves travel through a planet, they were able to determine the materials the waves travel through. What they found was the breakdown of igneous rocks saturated with liquid water in the middle crust of Mars.
Professor Michael Manga from the University of California, Berkeley, said one of the scientists involved in the study BBC they applied the same techniques they used “to search for water on Earth or to search for oil and gas.” He said his team’s findings could answer the question of where all the water on Mars went, as features on the planet’s surface showed the presence of lakes and rivers about three billion years ago. Although there is a theory that most of this water goes into space, scientists have challenged this idea in recent years. A study published in 2021 by Caltech and NASA JPL found data that most of this water still trapped in the planet’s crust.
The scientists involved in this new study have been published PNASthey could only analyze seismic velocity data taken from beneath the lander. However, they believe similar reservoirs of underground water exist all over the planet, and they estimate that Mars has enough liquid water below the surface to form a layer half a mile deep. Manga informed about this BBC “Most of our water is underground, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be on Mars as well.”
While the team’s findings are seen as good news for space agencies and private companies looking to visit the planet and even establish human colonies, reaching Mars’ reservoirs will not be easy. They are located about 7 to 12.5 miles below the surface, which would not be easy to reach even on our planet. “To dig a hole in Mars 10 km (6 miles) deep – even [Elon] Musk – it would be difficult,” said Manga, adding that “without liquid water, there is no life.”
