New research suggests that there may be enough water hidden in the cracks of subsurface rocks beneath the surface of Mars to form an ocean. These findings are based on seismic measurements from NASA’s Mars InSight lander, which recorded more than 1,300 marsquakes before it shut down two years ago.
Scientists have combined computer technologies with data from InSight, including the speed of seismic waves, to conclude that underground water was the most likely explanation for the seismic measurements. The results were published on Monday in the *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*.
The water, located in fractures 11.5 to 20 kilometers (about 7 to 12 miles) beneath the surface, is believed to have accumulated there billions of years ago when Mars had rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans, according to lead researcher Vashan Wright from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.
“On Earth, we know that where it is wet enough, and there are adequate energy sources, microbial life exists deep in the Earth’s crust,” said Wright. “The ingredients for life as we know it exist in Mars’ subsurface, if these interpretations are correct.”
Matthias Morzfeld from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Michael Manga from the University of California, Berkeley also contributed to the study.
The InSight lander— the first U.S. space mission dedicated to looking beneath Mars’ surface and studying its interior—was placed in Elysium Planitia near Mars’ equator. If InSight’s location is representative of the rest of the Red Planet, the underground water could be enough to fill a global ocean 1 to 2 kilometers (0.6 to 1.2 miles) deep, Wright added.
To confirm the presence of water and investigate any indications of microbial life, deeper drilling and other equipment will be necessary. Researchers have analyzed the data collected by the lander to gather more information about Mars’ interior.
Mars, which was likely wet nearly everywhere over 3 billion years ago, is believed to have lost its surface water as its atmosphere thinned, turning the planet into the dry, dusty world we know today. Scientists theorize that much of this ancient water has either escaped into space or remained buried beneath the surface.