“Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars – deep in the rocky outer crust of the planet,” reports the BBC. The discovery came from taking a fresh look at data collected by NASA’s Mars Insight Lander, which landed on Mars in 2018:
The lander carried a seismometer, which recorded four years’ of vibrations – Mars quakes – from deep inside the Red Planet. Analysing those quakes – and exactly how the planet moves – revealed “seismic signals” of liquid water. Insight’s scientific mission ended in December 2022, after the lander sat quietly listening to ‘the pulse of Mars’ for four years. In that time, the probe recorded more than 1,319 quakes. By measuring how fast seismic waves travel, scientists have worked out what material they are most likely to be moving through.
‘These are actually the same techniques we use to prospect for water on Earth, or to look for oil and gas,’ explained Professor Michael Manga…The analysis revealed reservoirs of water at depths of about six to 12 miles (10 to 20km) in the Martian crust…
The Insight probe was only able to record directly from the crust beneath its feet, but the researchers expect that there will be similar reservoirs across the planet. If that is the case, they estimate that there is enough liquid water on Mars to form a layer across the surface that would be more than half a mile deep.
This summer, scientists discovered that the Moon likely has hundreds of caves, making lunar colonies conceivable. The moon has pits and caves where temperatures stay at roughly 63 degrees Fahrenheit, making human habitation a possibility, according to research by scientists at UCLA. “Although much of the moon’s surface fluctuates from temperatures as high as 260 degrees during the day to as low as 280 degrees below zero at night, researchers say these stable spots could transform the future of lunar exploration and long-term habitation,” reports NPR.
The moon has other recently discovered resources as well: “For a long time scientists thought that there was no atmosphere on the Moon, but recent studies have confirmed that there is one. The very thin atmosphere, known as an exosphere, contains helium, argon, neon, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide.”
