Study: Liquid Water Found Deep in Martian Rocks
Study: Liquid Water Found Deep in Martian Rocks
The Facts
A recent study based on data from NASA's InSight lander and published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday revealed a massive reserve of liquid water under Mars' surface, indicating favorable conditions for possible microbiological life.
Evidence suggests Mars once had rivers and vast oceans, but the water disappeared about 3B years ago when the planet lost its atmosphere. Some of it froze into ice, but scientists have long sought to learn where the remainder went. New data indicate that water filtered into the crust rather than escaping into space.
The Spin
These findings show that scientists' long-held desire to find water on Mars is coming to fruition. If confirmed, this discovery would be game-changing for scientists interested in the possibility of life on Mars and the continuing effort to establish the planet as habitable — in the past, present, and future.
Water may suggest life on Mars, but none has been found yet and so far there's little evidence to the contrary. Although Mars had the same basic ingredients as early Earth and similar watery conditions, it never had the necessary conditions for life to develop, and eventually the sun removed Mars' atmosphere. We're a long way from Mars being inhabitable.
