The conclusions were derived from the analysis of seismometrical data collected by the Mars InSight lander of NASA until its operation stopped in 2022.
Recent studies indicate that there may be sufficient water in the pores and fissures of the undersurface rocks of Mars to create an ocean.
The results are derived from the data recorded by the seismometer installed on the Mars InSight lander of NASA, which registered more than 1,300 marsquakes before ceasing its work two years ago.
To arrive at that conclusion, the researchers used computer models amalgamated with seismometry information that InSight collected from the quakes’ velocity; their analysis indicated that water was that likely present deep underground. The findings formed part of a study that was released on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The water—in fractures 11. From 5 km (7. 15 miles) to 20 km beneath the surface—was most likely to have accumulated billions of years ago when Mars had rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans, said the lead scientist, Vashan Wright from the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
“On Earth, what we know is where it is wet enough and there are enough sources of energy; there is microbial life very deep in Earth’s subsurface,” Wright said. “If these interpretations are correct, then the ingredients for life as we know it are already on Mars and are waiting for us in the Martian subsurface.
The paper was coauthored by Matthias Morzfeld of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley.
