InSight Mission Updates (Post Landing)

[catdlr]

Aug 13, 2024
For its first billion or so years, Mars was partly covered in water, as dry ocean basins and riverbeds on its surface now attest. But three billion years ago the planet lost its magnetic field, possibly due to a cooling of its core, allowing the solar wind to strip away its atmosphere. This, so the thinking went, caused the water to evaporate into space.

However, according to a new study, it appears that the water may still be there, trapped in the pores of volcanic rock.

[deadman1204]

It would be fascinating to see what we could learn studying 10-20km deep aquifers on earth much less mars. To date, the deepest hole ever dug was about 12km, and that was a huge state led effort, not just a little university team or whatnot.
We know theres deep life on earth that measures its lifespan in centuries. They metabolize super slowly because of the very small gradients. Could something also exist on mars? I'm skeptical for a number of reasons, but its a fun thought.