Scientists Found Oceans of Water on Mars. But Can Anybody Reach It?

Scientists have been talking about water on Mars for centuries, but they’ve never actually identified this much before. According to a new study, Mars’s vast oceans just happen to be inconveniently buried deep below the surface.

NASA scientists who were encouraged by previous evidence of a giant lake on the surface of Mars must be in a catatonic state of glee right now. The new study, published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences based on data from the InSight lander, claimed that enormous reservoirs of water exist in igneous rock around 7 to 12 miles below Mars’ surface. They estimated that there’s enough groundwater to cover the entire planet around half a mile deep.

The InSight lander, which arrived on Mars in November 2018, used seismic instruments to measure how quakes affected the ground. Led by Vashan Wright from the University of California San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the new research into InSight’s data suggests that there’s enough water beneath Mars to cover the entire planet with an ocean that’s about a mile deep. The discovery will no doubt help researchers further dig into the history of Mars’s water cycle and its potential for supporting life.

So there is water, a lot of it, but right now, technologically speaking, there is no way to access it. Transporting big drills to another planet isn’t the most economically feasible thing right now. But that’s not to say that it won’t happen in the future. The presence of that much water implies that Mars might still harbor conditions conducive to microbial life. Yeah, it’s not little green men, but if that’s your standard for life then you’re going to be disappointed with what’s out there within our reach. 

The InSight lander’s mission ended in December 2022, when its power was depleted due to an over-accumulation of Martian dust on its solar panels. It’s been enjoying its much-deserved Total Recall-style Martian vacation ever since. Sip those ‘margs by a dry Mars lake bed, InSight. You’ve earned it.