Scientists May Have Discovered an Ocean of Water Underneath Mars

The possibility of life on Mars — right now — appears to have increased. New evidence strongly suggests there are deep pools of water beneath the Red Planet’s surface.

If the possible presence of a deep source of water at Mars’ equator is common for the whole planet, there could be enough water beneath it to cover Mars with an ocean up to a mile deep. Until now, the only water found on Mars exists in the vapor in the planet's air and polar ice caps. 

"Without liquid water, you don't have life," expert Michael Manga told the BBC. Manga's a University of California, Berkeley scientist. "So if there are habitable (places) on Mars, those may be now deep underground." 

Scientists made the finding by looking at data from NASA’s InSight Lander. It was captured from 2018 to 2022. It measured seismic waves made by marsquakes and meteor impacts at the Elysium Planitia. The speed of those waves strongly suggests they were moving through water between six and 12 miles beneath Mars' surface.  

Scientists widely believe there were rivers, lakes, and perhaps oceans on Mars’ surface billions of years ago. But at some point the planet lost its atmosphere. This has raised questions about where all that water went. At least some of it was lost to space, they say. Proof of this finding could answer many of those questions. 

It also means that perhaps microbial life exists today in those underground waters.  

“On Earth, where there is liquid water, there is life,” Bethany Ehlmann told The Guardian. Ehlmann teaches at the Keck Institute for Space Studies. It's in California. “So if liquid water (sources) are present on Mars now, they are a prime target in the search for life.”   

Reflect: If you could explore another planet, what would you hope to find there, and why would it be important?

Gif of Mars from GIPHY.