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Study Suggests Water—and Possibly Life—Exists Beneath Mars’ Surface
A recent seismic analysis of NASA’s InSight mission data hints at liquid water deep beneath Mars’ surface, reigniting the possibility of microbial life on the Red Planet.
The study, led by Ikuo Katayama of Hiroshima University and Yuya Akamatsu, suggests that water-filled fractures may exist in the Martian crust.
Published in Geology as “Seismic discontinuity in the Martian crust possibly caused by water-filled cracks,” the research examines seismic waves detected by InSight’s SEIS instrument.
At depths of 10–20 km, shifts in wave velocities were recorded. While past studies attributed these anomalies to porosity or composition changes, Katayama and Akamatsu propose a different explanation: liquid water.
“If liquid water exists on Mars, the presence of microbial activity is possible,” says Katayama. S-waves, which cannot travel through liquids, and P-waves, which slow in water-rich materials, showed patterns consistent with water-filled fractures.
To test their theory, the team conducted lab experiments using diabase rock (similar to Martian crust). Under wet conditions, seismic wave behavior matched InSight’s data.
“Many studies suggest the presence of water on ancient Mars billions of years ago,” Katayama explains, “but our model indicates the presence of liquid water on present-day Mars.”
If confirmed, this finding would reshape Mars’ habitability potential. Subsurface water could provide stable environments shielded from surface radiation and freezing temperatures. Unlike previous detections of ice or brines, this study points to deeper, stable liquid water.
The research could guide future missions to probe underground—where life, if it exists, may still survive.
The post Study Suggests Water—and Possibly Life—Exists Beneath Mars’ Surface appeared first on Anomalien.com.
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