An amazing discovery of the remains of the Martian ocean at a depth of 10 to 20 kilometers!

Many of the internal mysteries and geodynamics of our blue planet have been solved through analysis. Seismic wavesSeismic waves It spreads through it cortexcortexhere coatcoat And its essence. Geophysicists can solve what is called in mathematics the inverse problem by measuring these waves. This is by no means a mystery, as we do it ourselves when we recognize the shape and structure of a musical instrument simply by listening to the sound it produces.

Planetary scientists have of course pledged to do the same on the Moon and Mars by depositing SeismometersSeismometersInsight lander (Internal exploration using seismic investigations, geodesy and heat transport)) And thus he reached the surface of the red planet on November 26, 2018Seismometer published Seismic experiment of the internal structure (CES) (in French: Seismic experiment of the internal structure) on December 19, 2018.

The InSight mission launched on May 5, 2018 from Vandenberg, California. Target: Mars! It's number 12.^H The mission of the American Discovery program dedicated to studying the Red Planet, with the aim of revealing the inner mysteries of the fourth planet in the solar system. The SEIS seismometer is the result of 15 years of research and development carried out by the French National Center for Space Studies. The main managers explain everything about this mission. © CINES.FR

Liquid water at a depth of 11.5 to 20 kilometers below the surface of Mars

The mission ended at the end of 2022, but today an article was published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Scripps Institution of Oceanography In the United States it refers to an amazing discovery.

The PNAS article begins by reminding us that “ Liquid water was present at least occasionally on the surface of Mars in rivers, lakes, and oceans. groundwater layersgroundwater layers During the Noachian and Hesperian periods, more than 3 billion years ago, Mars lost its ability to host stable masses of liquid water on its surface after the planet lost most of its energy. AtmosphereAtmosphere During this period, ancient surface waters may have been incorporated into it. MineralsMineralsBuried as ice, sequestered in liquid form in deep aquifers or lost in space “

However, Seis data now suggests that at a depth of between 11.5 and 20 kilometers below the surface of Mars, there are still remnants of water that originally existed on Mars, leaving traces of flows and even oceans that existed more than 3 billion years ago. This water would beliquid stateliquid state When it surfaced, it could cover the planet with a global ocean 1 to 2 kilometers thick.

However, the seismic data the researchers analyzed also suggests that this water is indeed soaking the porous rocks in the Martian crust, just as water and oil do in aquifers and oil fields on Earth. So it’s not about oceans or underground lakes. But the discovery is still exciting, if confirmed, because liquid water exists deep down. igneous rocksigneous rocks This fractured, saturated liquid water may have sustained microscopic life forms for billions of years, some of which may have risen locally to the surface.

However, it is impossible to reach these porous rocks more than 10 kilometers away, as drilling on Earth already faces major problems reaching this depth.