A recent study has revealed that a vast reservoir of liquid water may be hidden deep beneath the surface of Mars, possibly holding enough to cover the entire planet in a global ocean. This groundbreaking finding, based on data from NASA's InSight lander , suggests that the Martian subsurface might offer conditions conducive to microbial life, either in the past or present. The InSight lander, which operated from 2018 until its mission concluded in 2022, provided seismic data that helped scientists uncover this potential water reservoir.
Located approximately 7.2 to 12.4 miles (11.
5 to 20 km) below the surface, this water is trapped within fractured igneous rocks. At these depths, the temperature is warm enough to sustain liquid water, unlike the surface, where water would be frozen. "Temperatures on present-day Mars become warm enough for stable liquid water near the top of mid-crust, and pores are expected to have closed at the bottom of the layer," the study said.
Planetary scientist Vashan Wright from the University of California, San Diego, and lead author of the study, explained that the presence of liquid water deep within the Martian crust was determined by analysing the speed of seismic waves. These waves change speed based on the rock composition, presence of cracks, and what fills them. The data indicates that a mid-crustal layer of cracked rocks filled with liquid water best explains both the seismic and gravity data collected by InSight.
Wright noted, "If the InSi.