Scientists discover a place on Mars that should be sustaining Martian life

Seismic data acquired by NASA's InSight lander, which has now retired, has revealed the presence of large liquid water reservoirs beneath the surface of Mars.

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Researchers have known for some time that Mars was once home to large bodies of liquid water, which formed running river-like delta systems across various regions of the planet. Evidence of liquid water is critical to the quest of identifying any ancient microbial life on the Red Planet, as its an ingredient for life as humans know it. But what if life is still present on Mars, but humans just can't get to it as it is miles beneath the Red Planet's surface?

Data from NASA's InSight lander, which used a seismometer along with other instruments to measure Mars' geological activity, point to massive underground reservoirs of liquid water. These readings informed researchers the reservoir is so large that if it was emptied it would cover the entire planet in about a mile of ocean. Unfortunately, humans won't be able to access it for quite some time as it's located between 7 and 13 miles beneath the planet's surface in the mid-crust region.

"Understanding the martian water cycle is critical for understanding the evolution of the climate, surface and interior. A useful starting point is to identify where water is and how much is there," said researcher Vashan Wright of University of California San Diego

"Establishing that there is a big reservoir of liquid water provides some window into what the climate was like or could be like. And water is necessary for life as we know it. I don't see why [the underground reservoir] is not a habitable environment. It's certainly true on Earth - deep, deep mines host life, the bottom of the ocean hosts life. We haven't found any evidence for life on Mars, but at least we have identified a place that should, in principle, be able to sustain life," said Michael Manga of the University of California Berkeley