Scientists believe that Mars was once abundant with water, as is seen in large-scale flood-carved channels, ancient river valleys and minerals that are made only in liquid water. But how red planet Lost Its water is still for debate, leaving behind the dry world we see today.
Now, a new challenge for a recent principle around the huge amount of water stored below the martian surface suggests that the red planet cannot hide liquid water under its crust.
In a letter National Academy of Sciences proceedings (PNA) Published on 6 March, Bruce Jakoski, a senior research scientist at the University of Colorado, and former head of NASA’s Mars atmosphere and former head of the volatile development mission (Maven) argues that there is an alternative clarification in last year’s principle.
“We hope there will be (Mars) crust in water or ice,” Jakoski said statement“In fact it is challenging to find out and determine its abundance, but it is very important to understand how much water is on Mars and what has its history.”
Insight and hidden water on Mars
In 2024, a team led by von Right at the Scripts Institution of Scripps Institution of San Diego University, California determined that a middle-christ made of fracture, water-elastic igneous rock, the best of the best NASA’s now-in-retired internal explosion, the data collected by now-retired internal explosion, earthquake, and heat transport, and cord transport, and cord transport () Uses using.
While previous missions focused on surface characteristics, it requires to study its deep interior to understand the formation of Mars. The Insight Lander launched in 2018 was designed to measure the planet’s internal activity, including its temperature, seismic waves and core dynamics.
Wright and his colleagues analyzed the data of insight to model the types of rocks and water saturation levels, which could explain the seismic activity found about 10 to 12 kilometers below the Martian surface.
Depending on its findings, the right and colleagues estimated that the crust of Mars could be equal to 0.62 to 1.24 miles (1 to 2 kilometers) of water if it was equally spread on the surface of the planet – it is known as the global equivalent layer.
For comparison, the global equivalent layer of the Earth is about 3.6 kilometers, which is made of water in most oceans, with only a small amount in crust.
“While approaches and analysis are appropriate and appropriate, their modeling results suggest an alternative conclusion,” Jakoski commented.
Examinations of modeling data of both right and Jakoski evaluate a metric known as liquid water saturation, which is a fraction of the hole spaces in a rock filled with liquid water.
Modeling of Wright suggested that the saturation of liquid water in the middle-crust below the insight is near 1, which means that almost all the stares in the rocks are filled with liquid water. This conclusion, he said, he helped explain the seismic data of the insight, as water-preferred rocks would behave differently under seismic waves.
However, recreation of data brought in other possibilities of Jakoski.
Jakoski and colleagues admitted that the pores in the crust may also have solid snow or even completely empty instead of filling with liquid water. They think it may happen still Explain the seismic and gravitational data insights collected.
Jakoski reported that while insight data does not confirm that the liquid water is present in the middle-crust, it also does not completely exclude it. After factoring in the delivery of the hole location and the distribution of potential presence of ice or empty spaces, Jakoski proposed that the amount of water can range from minus to 1.24 miles (0 to 2 km) if it extends equally on the surface of the planet.
This adjusted the lower estimate from the Wright’s team, suggesting a wide range of possibilities.
“It may be possible with future spacecraft measurements that to inhibit the abundance of water in the crust through more accurate determination of crustal properties,” Jakoski concluded.
So, at least now, Mars is angry at the debate of water.
