Discovering Hidden Oceans: How Meteorites and Marsquakes Reveal Liquid Water Beneath the Surface of Mars

Scientists are starting to believe that Mars might be hiding a secret beneath its red, dusty surface: a huge reservoir of liquid water deep within its crust. This revelation could totally change how we view the Red Planet.

While Mars today appears as a dry desert, it wasn’t always like that. Billions of years ago, rivers carved valleys and lakes sparkled across the landscape. But what happened to all that water? The fading magnetic field and thinning atmosphere led to its disappearance, with some evaporating into space, some freezing at the poles, and some bonding with minerals.

Recent work using seismic data from NASA’s InSight mission suggests a possible answer. Researchers discovered that seismic waves travel slower in a layer about 5.4 to 8 kilometers down. This slowdown hints at the presence of liquid water.

Calculations suggest that the missing water could have been enough to create an ocean up to 900 meters deep! One theory proposes that water seeping into fractures from meteorite impacts during Mars’ early years led to underground reservoirs, kept liquid by warmer temperatures deep within the crust.

In 2018, the InSight lander debuted on Mars to study its inner workings using a sensitive seismometer. By examining shear waves—vibrations created by marsquakes or meteorite impacts—scientists revealed a unique underground layer that resembles an aquifer filled with water. This layer could hold enough water to cover the planet with an ocean between 520 and 780 meters deep, far more than what’s in Antarctica’s ice sheets.

Recent seismic events, including two meteorite impacts in 2021 and a marsquake in 2022, helped map these hidden parts of Mars. The data collected essentially allow researchers to “see” through the crust. It’s as if echoes are helping us unveil hidden reservoirs of water.

Why does this matter? Water is essential for life as we know it. On Earth, even tiny microbes thrive in underwater rock. Could similar life exist in Mars’ hidden water? If so, it raises intriguing possibilities about Martian ecosystems and future human exploration.

For humans, this water could be more than just a curiosity. Purified, it could serve as drinking water or oxygen. However, drilling deep into another planet comes with big challenges. Maps suggest that there may be other water-rich areas, like the icy mud in Utopia Planitia.

Next steps for Mars exploration involve more missions equipped with seismometers to hunt for water layers across the planet. Future rovers might one day drill into these intriguing reservoirs, not just to study the water but also to protect it from contamination by Earth microbes that could disrupt potential Martian life.

The ongoing exploration of Mars promises to unveil secrets that could make the planet feel more like home than we’ve ever imagined.