The discovery comes from analysis of data from Nasa’s Insight lander, which took a seismometer to Mars. Credit: Nasa
Liquid water found deep in Martian rocks
Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars – deep in the rocky outer crust of the planet.
While there is water frozen at the Martian poles and evidence of vapour in the atmosphere, this is the first time liquid water has been found on the planet.
Researchers have analysed Mars quakes – seismic activity – to reveal reservoirs of water at depths of about six to 12 miles (10 to 20km) in the Martian crust.
Prof Michael Manga, from the University of California, Berkeley, said that water was “the most important molecule in shaping the evolution of a planet”.
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The finding, he said, answers a big question of “where did all the Martian water go?”.
However, the location of the groundwater is not good news for billionaires with Mars colonisation plans who might want to tap into it, scientists said.
“Drilling a hole 10km deep on Mars – even for [Elon] Musk – would be difficult,” Prof Manga told the BBC’s Victoria Gill. valoa2000@yahoo.com
