Mars hides ancient seas under the surface.

For decades, scholars have been speculating about what can happen to everyone. Martian water, It is considered a fairly wet planet before eternity. Some water can be found frozen in Mars’ polar ice caps, but new research shows that there is a huge amount of water. … in Mars. This discovery could have a profound impact on developing water harvesting plans for humans to exist on Mars in the future.

It is estimated that as the ancient Martian atmosphere gradually absorbed into space, much of the surface water went along. However, new research backed by NASA shows that much of Mars’ moisture remains trapped in the Earth’s crust.

“Air escape does not fully explain the data on how much water already existed on Mars,” Candidate Eva Schiller said in a statement. Schiller is the main author of the study. Published in the journal Science on Tuesday.

Schiller and colleagues investigated models that quantify the amount of water on Mars over time in various forms, as well as current data on the chemical composition of Mars’ atmosphere and planetary crust. They discovered that atmospheric escape theory cannot fully explain the conditions we see above and below the surface of our neighboring world today.

As Bethany Ellman of the California Institute of Technology explains: It is a huge reservoir of ancient minerals that has led to a decrease in water availability over time. “Professor of planetary science.

The interaction of water and rock can lead to a chemical weathering process that creates a clay-like substance that contains water within the mineral skeleton. This process occurs on Earth, but the geological cycle sends moisture trapped in the rocks back to the atmosphere through volcanoes. However, Mars appears to be devoid of volcanic activity that traps all water in the Earth’s crust.

“All this water was separated somewhat earlier and not recycled again,” says Schiller.

The researchers found that 4 billion years ago, Mars had enough water to cover the entire Earth with oceans from 100 to 1,500 meters (328 to 4,920 feet) deep, and 30 to 99 percent of that water is now trapped in minerals. . In perception.

Schiller and Ehelman Mars 2020 Patience Rover Team Collect rock samples from Mars to ultimately return and study on Earth to test the theory.

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