Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars – deep in the rocky outer crust of the planet, the BBC reports.
The findings come from a new analysis of data from Nasa’s Mars Insight Lander, which touched down on the planet back in 2018.
The lander carried a seismometer, which recorded four years’ of vibrations – Mars quakes – from deep inside the Red Planet.
Analysing those quakes – and exactly how the planet moves – revealed “seismic signals” of liquid water.
While there is water frozen at the Martian poles and evidence of vapor in the atmosphere, this is the first time liquid water has been found on the planet.
The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Insight’s scientific mission ended in December 2022, after the lander sat quietly listening to “the pulse of Mars” for four years.
In that time, the probe recorded more than 1,319 quakes.
By measuring how fast seismic waves travel, scientists have worked out what material they are most likely to be moving through.
“These are actually the same techniques we use to prospect for water on Earth, or to look for oil and gas,” explained Prof Michael Manga, from the University of California, Berkeley, who was involved in the research.
The analysis revealed reservoirs of water at depths of about 10 to 20km in the Martian crust.
