A pioneering NASA robot has detected more than a thousand earthquakes on Mars. It may also reveal a vast reservoir.
Planetary scientists have used unprecedented data collected by NASA’s InSight lander, which documented four years of geological activity on Mars, to reveal the possible presence of water deep within the planet’s crust. The research, which requires further investigation, may explain where the vast amounts of water on the Red Planet went as the world dried up, and suggest that Mars may have an environment suitable for life.
On our rocky planet, water is abundant underground. Why not go to Mars too?
“Absolutely right! We found water on Mars equivalent to Earth’s deep groundwater,” Michael Manga, a planetary scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-author of the new study, told Mashable.
The research was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
NASA scientists view the first Voyager images. What he saw made him shudder.
Detected water nowhere near the surface of Mars today 1,000 It is several times drier than the driest desert on earth. It is found in cracks and fractures deep in the Martian crust, about 7 to 13 miles (11.5 to 20 kilometers) underground, as shown in the image below.
Mix and match speed of light
NASA designed the InSight lander to observe the inner workings of Mars, so the spacecraft carries a seismometer, similar to the ones that measure earthquakes on Earth. It receives different types of seismic waves caused by Martian earthquakes, geological activity and meteorites striking the surface. Crucially, these waves, generated by pulses such as impacts or earthquakes, provide a wealth of information about the underground world. Manga explained that the speed of seismic waves depends on the composition of the rock, whether the rock has cracks and what material fills the cracks. The researchers then plugged these Martian seismic readings (as well as underground gravity measurements) into programs that simulated what’s beneath Mars—the same computer models geologists use to map Earth’s aquifers, or natural gas resources deep underground.
“Rocks in the middle crust that are fractured and filled with liquid water best explain the seismic and gravity data,” Manga said.
This image shows pockets of water deep within the Martian crust.
Photo credit: James Tuttle Keane/Aaron Rodriguez
A view of the InSight lander’s dusty seismometers on the surface of Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A temperate red planet once hosted giant Martian lakes and rivers. About 3 billion years ago, scientists suspect that as Mars gradually lost its insulating atmosphere, most of its water was lost to space. However, large amounts of water can also flow into the ground. It’s unclear exactly how much, but the latest water detections suggest there may be large amounts of water deep within the Martian crust.
“We know that liquid water buried deep underground is a possible solution to the question of where ancient liquid surface water on Mars went,” Manga said.
“On Earth, we find microbial life deep underground, where rocks are filled with water and where energy exists.”
The possible presence of water raises a tantalizing question. Could there be something living down there? Our planet provides a clue.
“On Earth, we find microbial life deep underground, where rocks are filled with water and where energy exists,” Manga said.
Future Mars explorers won’t be able to drill many miles into Martian rock to access or analyze this water. But they may find other places, such as geologically active regions like Cerberus Nest on Mars, where liquid water could be discharged onto the desert floor.
The surface of Mars may indeed be a harsh, irradiated place, but in the deep, watery underground world, hardy life appears to thrive.
