Hidden Ocean on Mars Could Rewrite What We Know About the Planet

A newly discovered hidden ocean beneath Mars’ surface has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the Red Planet. This subterranean body of water could offer vital clues about Mars’ geological history, climate evolution, and its capacity to support life. Scientists believe this finding may change existing theories about water presence and distribution on Mars, opening exciting possibilities for future exploration and the search for signs of past or present life on the planet.

Mars bears evidence of ancient water bodies, yet scientists have long puzzled over where that water disappeared as the planet grew cold and dry. Increasingly, researchers suspect a hidden secret beneath Mars’ dusty red surface: a vast reservoir of liquid water trapped deep within its crust that could change our understanding of the planet.

Our recent research sheds light on this mystery. By analyzing seismic data from NASA’s InSight mission, we found that seismic waves slow down between 5.4 and 8 kilometers beneath the surface, likely due to liquid water present at those depths.

Mars today is a dry desert, but it was once very different. Billions of years ago, during the Noachian and Hesperian eras, flowing rivers shaped valleys and lakes dotted the landscape. However, as Mars lost its magnetic field and atmosphere thinned, most surface water disappeared. Some escaped into space, some froze in polar ice caps, and some became locked within minerals, where it remains.

Despite these factors, evaporation, freezing, and mineral entrapment don’t fully explain the amount of water Mars once had. Estimates suggest a missing volume that could form an ocean between 700 and 900 meters deep. One idea is that this water seeped underground, filling fractures created by intense meteorite impacts during the Noachian period.

Deeper underground, warmer temperatures may keep water liquid, unlike the frozen layers closer to the surface.

When NASA’s InSight lander arrived on Mars in 2018, it deployed a highly sensitive seismometer to study the planet’s interior. Examining shear waves, vibrations traveling through the crust, we detected an unusual layer between 5.4 and 8 kilometers deep where waves slowed significantly.

This “low-velocity layer” likely consists of porous rock saturated with liquid water, comparable to Earth’s aquifers where groundwater fills rock pores.

We estimated that this aquifer could hold enough water to cover Mars with an ocean 520 to 780 meters deep, a volume far exceeding the water contained in Antarctica’s ice sheet. This fits well with calculations for Mars’ missing water after factoring in losses to space and water bound in minerals and ice.

Our discovery was aided by two meteorite impacts in 2021 (S1000a and S1094b) and a marsquake in 2022 (S1222a), which generated seismic waves traveling through Mars’ crust. The seismometer recorded these vibrations, allowing us to use high-frequency signals—like tuning into a clear radio channel to reveal hidden layers underground.

We applied “receiver functions,” a method analyzing wave reflections between crustal layers, akin to echo mapping in caves. This technique pinpointed the boundary where rock type changes and identified the water-bearing zone deep beneath the surface.

The presence of liquid water is crucial because it supports life on Earth, even in deep subsurface rocks inhabited by microbes. Could similar life forms survive in these Martian reservoirs, relics of ancient ecosystems? Only future exploration can answer that question.

Moreover, this water could be vital for future human missions, providing drinking water, oxygen, or rocket fuel once purified. Although drilling kilometers deep on Mars is a daunting prospect, data from near the equator suggests other water-rich areas may exist, such as the icy mud deposits at Utopia Planitia.

Currently, our seismic data covers only a small portion of Mars. Additional missions equipped with seismometers are necessary to explore water layers globally. Future rovers or drills may access these reservoirs to study their chemistry for biosignatures, while careful planetary protection will be essential to avoid contaminating possible native life.

For now, the discovery invites us to continue listening to Mars’ seismic signals, unlocking the secrets of a world that might be more Earth-like than previously imagined.

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Source: ndtv‍