Why water on Mars is so significant

David Bowie famously pondered whether there is life on Mars – and we might be one step closer to answering that question.

Enough water to cover the surface of Mars has been discovered within the crust, said The Sun, with profound implications for our understanding of the planet and potentially providing "proof of alien life".

What has been found?

"Once upon a time", said Space, Mars had "lots of liquid water" on its surface, with oceans, lakes and rivers, "but the water disappeared about 3 billion years ago". This means Mars rovers have explored "dried up lakebeds and empty river channels".

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But the data from a NASA mission between 2018 and 2022 has found evidence of an underground reservoir of water. The space agency's lander carried a seismometer, which "recorded four years' of vibrations – Mars quakes – from deep inside the Red Planet", said the BBC.

The team used the same techniques used to search for water on Earth, or to look for oil and gas. They were excited to make their discovery but "there's a problem", said Forbes.

This water is "deep", explained Space – "very deep." It is between 11.5km and 20km deep (7.1 and 12.4 miles) and there is no water at all in the crust above 5km deep (3.1 miles).

Why does this matter?

Despite their inconvenient depths, if the aquifers are there, they may "provide new insights into the dynamics of Mars’s desiccation", said The Economist, and if Mars "ever was the abode of life", they "may be the habitat of its last survivors".

We "haven't found any evidence for life on Mars", said professor of planetary science Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley, but "at least we have identified a place that should, in principle, be able to sustain life".

Have you ever wanted to live on Mars? This latest discovery might bring the possibility closer. Exploring on The Conversation "what it would take" to transform Mars' "barren landscape" into "a life-friendly world", Sven Bilén explained that humans would need "liquid water, food, shelter and an atmosphere with enough oxygen to breathe and thick enough to retain heat and protect against radiation from the Sun".

What next?

Don't put your house on the market just yet because to reach the water would "require drills far beyond anything that the current generation of Mars robots could carry", said The Economist, and "even on Earth it would be hard".

Despite this, space scientists are thrilled by the development. The exploration may be expanded. Further seismometers could be sent to Mars and other planets and moons within our solar system in the future, said CNN, and "spreading them out across Mars" would reveal variations within the planet’s interior and provide a greater window into its diverse and complex history.