Liquid water reservoirs discovered on Mars

Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars, deep within the planet’s rocky outer crust.

The findings come from a new analysis of data from NASA’s Mars Insight probe, which landed on the planet in 2018.

The lander carried a seismometer, which recorded four years of vibrations – Mars quakes – from deep within the Red Planet.

Analysis of these earthquakes – and exactly how the planet moves – has revealed “seismic signals” of liquid water.

Although there is frozen water at the Martian poles and traces of vapor in the atmosphere, this is the first time liquid water has been discovered on the planet.

The results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Insight’s science mission ended in December 2022, after the lander quietly listened to the “pulse of Mars” for four years.

During this period, the probe recorded more than 1,319 earthquakes.

By measuring the speed at which seismic waves travel, scientists have determined which material they are most likely to travel through.

“These are actually the same techniques we use to explore for water on Earth, or to explore for oil and gas,” explained Professor Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley, who participated in the research.

The analysis revealed water reservoirs at depths of about 10 to 20 km in the Martian crust.

“Understanding the Martian water cycle is critical to understanding the evolution of the Martian climate, surface and interior,” said principal investigator Dr. Vashan Wright of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Professor Manga added that water was “the most important molecule in the evolution of a planet.” The discovery, he said, answered a big question: “Where did all the Martian water go?”

Studies of the surface of Mars – with its channels and ripples – show that in ancient times there were rivers and lakes on the planet.

But for three billion years it has been a desert.

Some of this water was lost to space when Mars lost its atmosphere. But, according to Professor Manga, here on Earth, “a lot of our water is underground and there’s no reason why that shouldn’t be the case on Mars as well.”

The Insight probe was only able to record directly from the Earth’s crust beneath its feet, but researchers expect similar reservoirs to be found all over the planet. If so, they estimate there is enough liquid water on Mars to form a layer on the surface that would be more than a kilometer deep.

However, they point out, the location of this Martian underground water is not good news for billionaires with plans to colonize Mars who might want to exploit it.

“It is sequestered 10 to 20 km deep in the Earth’s crust,” explains Professor Manga.

“Drilling a 10km deep hole on Mars – even for (Elon) Musk – would be difficult,” he told BBC News.

This discovery could also indicate another target for the ongoing search for evidence of life on Mars.

“Without liquid water, there is no life,” Professor Manga said. “If there are habitable environments on Mars, they may now be deep underground.”