Underground Water On Mars May Refill Its Ancient Oceans, Study Suggests

NASA's Mars InSight lander has provided new evidence of liquid water deep beneath Mars' surface, according to a study released Monday. This discovery advances the search for life on the planet and offers insights into what might have happened to its ancient oceans. The lander, operational since 2018, collected seismic data over four years to analyse subsurface materials.

The researchers concluded that liquid water likely exists deep below the lander's location. This conclusion was drawn from seismic measurements that indicated large reservoirs of liquid water in fractures 11.5 to 20 kilometres beneath the surface. These findings suggest that Mars' subsurface holds more water than previously hypothesised ancient Martian oceans.

Water is crucial for life, and geological studies indicate that Mars had lakes, rivers, and oceans over 3 billion years ago. The presence of liquid water deep underground supports the idea that the planet could have once harboured life or might still do so in its subsurface.

"On Earth what we know is where it is wet enough and there are enough sources of energy, there is microbial life very deep in Earth’s subsurface," said Vashan Wright from the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "The ingredients for life as we know it exist in the Martian subsurface if these interpretations are correct."

Wright also mentioned that on Earth, groundwater infiltrates from the surface to deep underground. He expects a similar process occurred on Mars when its upper crust was warmer than it is today. Although direct study of such deep water on Mars isn't possible, these results have significant implications.

Understanding Mars' Water Cycle

The study's authors believe their findings will help understand Mars’ water cycle better. They aim to determine the fates of past surface water and explore possibilities for past or existing life forms. Additionally, this research could assist future missions in assessing resource utilisation directly on Mars.

The InSight lander's seismic data has thus opened new avenues for understanding Mars' geological history and potential habitability. By revealing hidden reservoirs of liquid water far beneath the surface, it provides a promising direction for future exploration and study.

With inputs from WAM