Mars may be drenched beneath its surface, with enough water hiding in the cracks of underground rocks to form a global ocean, new research suggests.
The findings released Monday are based on seismic measurements from NASA’s Mars InSight lander, which detected more than 1,300 marsquakes before shutting down two years ago.
Just because water still may be sloshing around inside Mars does not mean it holds life, Wright said.
His team combined computer models with InSight readings including the quakes’ velocity in determining underground water was the most likely explanation.
Wet almost all over more than 3 billion years ago, Mars is thought to have lost its surface water as its atmosphere thinned, turning the planet into the dry, dusty world known today.
Persons:
Vashan Wright, Wright
Organizations:
University of California San Diego’s Scripps, of Oceanography, National Academy of Sciences