The fascination with the Red Planet continues, and Mars remains one of the most intriguing objects to study. Scientists have long suspected that water may have once existed on Mars, as evidenced by traces of rivers and lakes. But where that water disappeared to remains a mystery.
Last November, two independent scientific teams made an interesting discovery. After a meteorite hit the planet's surface, they recorded seismic waves. Thanks to them, they were able to "peek" into the bowels of the cosmic body, discovering that their knowledge about Mars was wrong.
Data from a seismometer probe has revealed a new layer between the planet's core and mantle. This means that Mars' core is smaller and denser than we thought. Although the teams disagree on the exact scale, they agree that it is made up of molten rock.
The newly discovered layer may prevent the formation of a magnetic field, without which planets are extremely vulnerable to the fierce solar wind. As a result, the planet could lose all its water. But a new study suggests that It hasn't disappeared, it's just hiding..
Enough water to create oceans
A new study published in the prestigious scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) used the same seismometer probe, the InSight Lander, which the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent to Mars in 2018.
Using seismic activity to study the interior of Mars, geophysicists have found evidence of a large underground reservoir of liquid water, enough to fill the planet's surface oceans, as was the case more than three billion years agowhen water covered the surface.
The new discovery was made by Vashan Wright, Matthias Morzfield and Micheal Manga, all of whom are from the University of California, Berkeley. Wright and Morzfield are from the San Diego Institute of Oceanography, while Manga is from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Berkeley.
These scientists estimate that the amount of groundwater could cover the entire planet to a depth of one to two kilometersThe oceans on our planet are even deeper, with the farthest point from the surface being the Mariana Trench at a depth of 10,994 meters.
Will the discovery contribute to the colonization of Mars?
As we mentioned in a previous article, colonies on Mars must be largely self-sufficient, as delivering raw materials would be costly and time-consuming. While it may seem like the new discovery will help the colonies, it appears that this will not be the case.
This groundwater supply will not be very useful, as pumping water from it will not be easy, or even possible. Liquid water is found in small cracks and pores in the rock in the middle of the Martian crust several kilometers below the surface.
UC Berkeley News reports that water may be found 7.2 to 12.4 miles (11.5 to 20 kilometers) below the surface of Mars. According to the report, drilling for water on Mars would be difficult even on Earth. While it won't help future colonies, it could help another field of science.
The water below the surface is not in the form of ice. Source: James Tuttle Keane/Aaron Rodriquez/Scripps Institution of OceanographyThis finding points to another promising place where we could look for extraterrestrial life. But there's a catch: we have to get to it first. In the meantime, their discovery provides answers to questions about the geological history of the planet.
"Understanding the water cycle on Mars is very important for understanding the evolution of the climate, surface and interior," said Vashan Wright, co-author of the new study. "A useful starting point is to determine where the water is and how much of it there is," he finished his thought.
Water as the basis of life
Climate plays a major role in the development of life. "The discovery that there is a large reservoir of liquid water provides some insight into what the climate was or could have been like," explained co-author Micheal Manga, adding that water is essential for life as we know it.
Scientist Manga sees no reason why the newly discovered water reservoir couldn't be suitable for life. "It's certainly true on Earth - there's life in deep mines, there's life at the bottom of the oceans," Manga clarified that they have not found any evidence yet about life on Mars.
However, they believe they have identified a place that could provide the conditions for life to survive beyond our planet. NASA scientists shared a similar achievement in October last year when they managed to collect a sample from the asteroid Bennu after years.
In a previous article, we reported that analysis of the samples showed large amounts of water in the form of hydrated clay minerals. It also contains carbon, which, together with water, forms the basic elements without which life cannot exist.