There is compelling new evidence that liquid water may exist deep below on Mars, according to a recent study of seismic data from NASA’s InSight lander.
Based on the velocity of seismic waves found during earthquakes, researchers hypothesized in 2024 that the Red Planet’s deep subsurface, specifically between 7.1 and 12.4 miles (11.5 and 20 kilometers) underground, is saturated with liquid water, according to Space.com.
Researchers Yuya Akamatsu of the Research Institute for Marine Geodynamics in Japan and Ikuo Katyama of Hiroshima University have now discovered evidence to support the idea that there is liquid water deep within Mars.
In a statement, Katayama stated, “Numerous studies indicate the presence of water on ancient Mars billions of years ago.”
The SEIS (Seismic Experiment for the Interior Structure) instrument, which was a component of the InSight mission, which conducted operations on the red planet’s surface from 2018 to 2022, provided the seismic data used in this current analysis, as was the case with other studies.
Significantly, SEIS was the first seismometer to function on Mars and could detect three distinct kinds of seismic waves produced by earthquakes.
These included surface waves, which move along Mars’ surface like ripples in a pond, P-waves, which oscillate back and forth like sound waves, and S-waves, which oscillate up and down perpendicular to the direction of motion.
