There may be enough water hidden beneath the surface of Mars in cracks in subterranean rocks to form a global ocean, according to new research. The findings, released Monday, are based on seismic measurements taken by NASA’s Mars InSight lander, which detected more than 1,300 Martian quakes before it was shut down two years ago, the paper said. AFP.
According to lead scientist Vashan Wright of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, this water — thought to be 11.5 to 20 kilometers deep in the Martian crust — probably seeped out from the surface billions of years ago. When Mars was still alive, there were rivers, lakes and perhaps oceans.
Just because water is still boiling inside Mars doesn't mean it has life. Instead, our results suggest that there could be a habitable environment.
Wright said.
His team combined computer models with InSight measurements, including earthquake velocities, and determined that groundwater was the most likely explanation. The results were published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
If InSight's location on Elysium Planitia, near Mars' equator, is representative of the rest of the Red Planet, the groundwater would be enough to fill a global ocean about 1-2 kilometers deep.
Wright said. Other drills and equipment will be needed to confirm the presence of water and look for possible signs of microbial life. And while the InSight lander is no longer operational, scientists will continue to analyze data collected between 2018 and 2022 to look for more information about the interior of Mars.
Mars, which was wet almost everywhere more than 3 billion years ago, is thought to have lost its surface water as the atmosphere thinned, turning the planet into the dry, dusty world we know today. Scientists think most of the ancient water escaped into space or remained buried underground.
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