Study: Liquid Water Found Deep in Martian Rocks

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Facts

  • A recent study based on data from NASA's InSight lander and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday revealed a massive reserve of liquid water under Mars' surface, indicating favorable conditions for possible microbiological life.[1]
  • Evidence suggests Mars once had rivers and vast oceans, but the water disappeared about 3B years ago when the planet lost its atmosphere. Some of it froze into ice, but scientists have long sought to learn where the remainder went. New data indicate that water filtered into the crust rather than escaping into space.[2]
  • The InSight lander's seismometer data reveals that Mars has sufficient groundwater to potentially submerge the planet's surface under 1 mile (1.6 km) of deep water.[3]
  • The probe's scientific mission ended in December 2022, after it had detected more than 1,319 earthquakes, or marsquakes, during the four years it was operational.[4]
  • By monitoring these marsquakes and planetary motions, researchers found 'seismic signals' indicating the presence of liquid water. These methods, according to Professor Michael Manga from UC Berkeley, are similar to the ones geologists use to search for water on Earth or to look for oil and gas.[5]
  • However, the water may be difficult to tap because of its estimated depth of 6 to 12 miles (10 to 20 km) in the Martian crust.[6]

Sources: [1]The Times of India, [2]Berkeley News, [3]CNN, [4]AOL, [5]The Business Standard and [6]BBC News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Science. These findings show that scientists' long-held desire to find water on Mars is coming to fruition. If confirmed, this discovery would be game-changing for scientists interested in the possibility of life on Mars and the continuing effort to establish the planet as habitable — in the past, present, and future.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Forbes. Water may suggest life on Mars, but none has been found yet and so far there's little evidence to the contrary. Although Mars had the same basic ingredients as early Earth and similar watery conditions, it never had the necessary conditions for life to develop, and eventually the sun removed Mars' atmosphere. We're a long way from Mars being inhabitable.

Predictions