Imagine standing on the rust-red sands of the planet Mars, your spacesuit is the only thing between you and the unforgiving and harsh environment on the red planet. Now, imagine being told that beneath your feet lies an ocean’s worth of water, tantalizingly out of reach. Well, this isn’t science fiction anymore; it’s rapidly becoming scientific fact.

While Mark Watney, the protagonist in Andy Weir’s “The Martian,” was fighting for survival on the sterile surface of Mars, an entire ocean’s worth of water might have been merely under his feet. Where Watney’s is a fiction survival story, recent scientific discoveries are bringing us ever closer to unraveling the mysteries of water on the Red Planet—and implications are nothing short of extraordinary.

Taken together, new research using data from NASA’s Mars InSight lander finds compelling evidence in an August 2024 paper for vast quantities of liquid water hidden deep beneath the Martian surface. We are not talking about a small underground water reservoir but a possible volume of water to form a global ocean if brought onto the surface.

A team led by Dr. Vashan Wright of UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography used InSight’s seismic data to probe the interior of Mars. Using more than 1,300 marsquakes detected during the lander’s mission, the researchers applied the technique of seismic tomography—like a CT scan for the planet—to determine composition in the crust and mantle of Mars. They found that this water probably lurks in cracks and pores within rocks 7–12 miles beneath the planet’s surface.

Artist’s Concept of InSight Lander on Mars: InSight was the first mission dedicated to investigating the deep interior of Mars. The findings advance understanding of how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

“This discovery is a game-changer,” Dr. Wright says. “It’s like finding an oasis in what we thought was a desert planet. The presence of this much water could completely rewrite our understanding of Mars’ geological and potentially biological history.”

Putting things in perspective, if the discoveries that will be made at the landing site of InSight near the Martian equator are representative of the entire planet, then there could be subsurface water enough to make up a global ocean of about a mile deep. Quite far from the dusty, arid world we have come to know through rover images and orbital observations.

This helps set up an important milestone in the understanding of Mars’ hydrological past. For decades, researchers have recognized that billions of years ago, Mars had an abundance of surface water—rivers, lakes, and possibly oceans. As many have concluded, much of this water was lost to space as the atmosphere grew thinner over time, or it became locked up in polar ice caps. Now, it appears that a significant amount might have trickled into the crust and been preserved in rocky interior material.

NASA’s InSight lander set its heat probe, called the Heat and Physical Properties Package (HP3). (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The implications of this finding are profound. For astrobiologists, the presence of liquid water – even deep underground – raises tantalizing possibilities about the potential for microbial life on Mars. “There are environments that could possibly be habitable,” says Dr. Wright—in other words, while this discovery doesn’t really guarantee life, it at least makes a case for it.

The problem is that this water is extremely inaccessible. It lies at depths of between 7 and 12 miles – way beyond the reach of any drilling technologies developed for Mars so far. Any future missions would have to invent new and more powerful equipment to tap into this underground reservoir; an effort that makes Mark Watney’s attempts at potato-growing look like child’s play.

The discovery also compels us to change our cultural perception of Mars. For decades, science fiction has depicted Mars as dry and inhospitable. From H.G. Wells’s “War of the Worlds” to more recent fare such as “The Martian” and “The Expanse” series, the lack of water has formed a core challenge for fictional Mars settlers. This new finding presents a more hopeful vision of future Martian exploration and colonization—though still one very much in need of huge technological strides.

A futuristic concept art piece showing a potential Mars colony. In the foreground, advanced drilling equipment reaches deep into the Martian crust to access underground water reserves. (Image credit: Author)

This, undoubtedly, will play a big role in shaping Mars missions to come in the near future. While NASA’s Perseverance rover is on the lookout for signs of ancient microbial life, its successor missions could employ technologies that work deeper into the Martian crust. The challenge of gaining access to this water might spur innovation in drilling and extraction techniques, which could point humans toward a more long-term, sustainable presence on the Red Planet.

Dr. Ellen Stofan, formerly Chief Scientist at NASA, had this to say about what such implications would entail: “This discovery could be a turning point in our Mars exploration strategy. If we can develop the technology to access this water, it could provide the resources needed for long-term human missions to Mars. It’s not just about quenching thirst – this water could be used for everything from growing food to producing rocket fuel for return trips to Earth.”

The more we learn about our celestial neighbor, the closer we get to really knowing whether life could have existed—or still exist—on Mars. Though we didn’t find Martians, a lot of liquid water continues to flow beneath the surface, alive and well with the possibility of life.

While the Red Planet has for long captured our imagination, now it captures scientific attention as never before. With new frontiers opening up in the exploration of Mars, the possibilities seem endless, just as they are for newly discovered water reserves beneath its surface.

A side-by-side comparison of Mars as depicted in “The Martian” movie (left, dusty and dry) versus an artist’s rendition of what Mars might look like if all its subsurface water was brought to the surface (right). This visual starkly illustrates the paradigm shift in our understanding of Mars’ water content. (Image credit: Author)

Ready to dive deeper into this fascinating discovery? Tune in to our next episode of the Interstellar Podcast, where none other than Dr. Vashan Wright joins us in discussing these implications as a result of this ground-breaking research. From the technical difficulties of accessing the water to the potential for Martian life, we’ll cover it all. Don’t miss out on this cosmic conversation – subscribe now and join us in expanding our knowledge of the universe.

References:

• Los Angeles Times. (2024). Mars study suggests ocean’s worth of water may be hiding under surface
• CNN. (2024). Oceans of water may be trapped deep beneath the Martian surface
• Reuters. (2024). Martian subsurface harbours oceans of life-giving liquid water
• Forbes. (2024). NASA Has Found Oceans Of Water On Mars — But There’s A Problem
• Science Daily. (2024). Scientists find oceans of water on Mars: It’s just too deep to tap