Seismic Data Unveils Vast Underground Water Reservoir on Mars

Pasadena, The Gulf Observer: A groundbreaking discovery has been made by scientists studying seismic data from NASA’s InSight lander: a vast reservoir of liquid water may be hidden deep beneath the surface of Mars, contained within fractured igneous rocks. This reservoir is believed to be large enough to cover the entire surface of Mars with an ocean.

This conclusion is drawn from data collected by NASA’s InSight lander, which conducted a mission from 2018 to 2022 to explore the interior structure of Mars. The findings, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offer compelling evidence that conditions potentially suitable for sustaining microbial life may exist, or may have existed, deep within the Martian crust.

The water reservoir is estimated to be located at a depth of approximately 7.2 to 12.4 miles (11.5 to 20 km) below the surface. According to lead author Vashan Wright, a planetary scientist from the University of California, San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, these depths would allow the Martian crust to be warm enough for water to remain in liquid form. “At more shallow depths, the water would be frozen as ice,” Wright explained.

Wright emphasized the potential significance of this discovery by comparing it to similar environments on Earth. “On Earth, we find microbial life deep underground where rocks are saturated with water and there is an energy source,” he said. The possibility that Mars may harbor similar conditions raises intriguing questions about the potential for life on the Red Planet.

The InSight lander, which touched down in 2018, was equipped with instruments designed to study Mars’ deep interior, from its liquid metal core to its mantle and crust. One of the key achievements of the mission was measuring the speed of seismic waves as they traveled through different layers of the planet. “The speed of seismic waves depends on what the rock is made of, where it has cracks, and what fills the cracks,” Wright noted.

By combining seismic data with gravity measurements and rock physics models, the researchers were able to identify the presence of a reservoir of liquid water within fractured igneous rocks. These rocks, formed from the cooling and solidification of magma or lava, are located within Mars’ crust, the planet’s outermost layer.

“A mid-crust whose rocks are cracked and filled with liquid water best explains both seismic and gravity data,” Wright stated. “If the InSight location is representative and you extract all the water from the fractures in the mid-crust, we estimate that the water would fill a 1-2 km deep (0.6-1.2 miles) ocean on Mars globally.”

The discovery not only enhances our understanding of Mars’ geological history but also adds a new dimension to the ongoing search for life beyond Earth. The presence of liquid water beneath the surface of Mars could provide vital clues to the planet’s habitability and its potential to support life, past or present.