Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on the surface of Mars.

According to reports, the water lies 10 to 20 kilometers deep below the planet's rocky surface. BBC.

The findings come from a new analysis of data from NASA’s Mars Insight Lander. It landed on Mars in 2018 and carried a seismometer. It recorded vibrations—marsquakes—from deep within the planet.

Analysis of these earthquakes and how the planet moves has revealed seismic signals of liquid water.

By measuring how fast seismic waves travel, scientists can determine what type of material they are likely to travel through.

“This is the same technology we use to search for water on Earth, or to search for oil and gas,” Michael Manga tells the BBC.

He is a professor of earth sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, who participated in the research.

First discovery of liquid water

Although there is frozen water at the poles of Mars and evidence of vapor in the atmosphere, this is the first time liquid water has been found on the planet.

The results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

InSight's research mission ended in December 2022. By then, the lander had been listening to the “pulse of Mars” for four years.

There were rivers and lakes on Mars. For three billion years the planet was a pristine desert. Groundwater is more than 10 kilometers underground. That's bad news for billionaires planning to colonize Mars.

Drilling a 10-kilometer-deep hole on Mars would be difficult, even for Elon Musk, Manga says.

As you know, Tesla's billionaire has ambitions to make it happen. colonization of mars.

Professor Manga points out that life is not possible without water.

– If there are habitable environments on Mars, they must be deep underground, he tells the BBC.