Buried water found on Mars sparks new hopes and headaches

A fresh look inside Mars suggests that what lurks far beneath its dusty surface might change how we think about water on the Red Planet.

Evidence emerging from research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that liquid water is sequestered deep under the Red Planet’s surface, locked in cracks and pores.

Scientists say there could be enough of it to blanket the entire planet under about a mile of ocean. This revelation challenges the old assumption that most of Mars water vanished into space billions of years ago.

Instead, a substantial portion of it may never have left at all — remaining present deep underground.

Subterranean secrets

Deep beneath the barren landscape, seismic readings gathered by NASA’s InSight mission support the idea of an immense, hidden reservoir.

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and UC San Diego honed in on signals from Mars’s quakes, meteor strikes, and volcanic murmurs to map what lies below.

By interpreting how these waves traveled through different layers, the team found that the presence of water-soaked rock best explains the data.

The findings suggest that liquid is trapped in tiny fissures deep underground. According to Manga, a hidden water supply far below the Martian surface is hardly an inhospitable zone.

“I don’t see why [the underground water] is not a habitable environment,” said Michael Manga, a professor of earth and planetary science at UC Berkeley.

Mars water and potential for life

No direct biosignatures have ever emerged from Mars, yet the notion of a suitable habitat underground tempts the imagination.

Organisms on Earth survive at crushing depths and in pitch-black caverns. Similar conditions might exist beneath Mars’s crust.

“We haven’t found any evidence for life on Mars, but at least we have identified a place that should, in principle, be able to sustain life,” Manga explained.

Even so, confirming anything alive down there is a tall order, and any future attempt to reach these elusive waters would stretch engineering know-how to its limit.

Deep drilling and tough odds

Though the newfound reservoir might hold riches of scientific interest, it also resides at depths of about 7 to 13 miles (11 to 21 kilometers).

On Earth, drilling down that far is beyond current engineering capabilities. The Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, the deepest hole ever created by humans, reached just over 7.6 miles (12 kilometers).

Tapping the Martian water supply, which sits deeper, looks virtually impossible with the technology we have today.

This puts a damper on visions of settlers using these waters as a resource anytime soon. Mars may be water-rich underground, but those riches are locked away.

Clues from the past

Long ago, Mars likely resembled a wetter place. Orbital imaging and rover missions have revealed surface features that point to a time when rivers and lakes carved out the terrain.

Geological evidence indicates that liquid water helped form certain minerals.

Scientists have struggled to explain what happened when Mars lost its thick atmosphere, which once prevented surface water from vaporizing into space.

These new findings hint that large portions of the planet’s original water supply did not vanish entirely. Instead, it may have seeped deep into the planet’s crust, remaining there ever since.

Window into Martian history

Wright, who contributed to understanding Mars’s current water distribution, stressed the significance of knowing how much and where liquid exists today. 

“Understanding the Martian water cycle is critical for understanding the evolution of the climate, surface and interior.

A useful starting point is to identify where water is and how much is there,” said Vashan Wright, assistant professor at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Peering into this underground reservoir offers a rare glimpse into ancient processes that shaped the Red Planet. It may explain why Mars shifted from a wet environment to a cold, dry world.

Water on Mars and future study

The InSight mission, which ended in 2022, recorded seismic activity long enough to provide a wealth of clues about Mars’s structure. Its readings have now sparked a different perspective on where the Red Planet stashed its water.

Reaching and analyzing these underground stores remain a distant dream, but simply knowing they exist changes how scientists think about Mars as a potentially habitable place.

Perhaps the mysteries of these deep waters will inspire novel tools and missions in future.

Until then, human curiosity and imagination will keep this buried reservoir near the top of must-explore questions as we continue to study the planet’s past and puzzle over its potential for supporting life.

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