A new study has reduced the chances of humans finding life on Mars. According to the study conducted by researchers at the University of California San Diego, there is little or no evidence of water in the subsurface of Mars. The surprising results were obtained after studying seismic data from NASA’s Mars InSight mission. The Mars InSight lander is located on Elysium Planitia, a flat smooth surface near the Martian equator. The InSight lander studies the subsurface of the Red Planet by digging about 300 meters below the landing site.
Seismic data showed that there is negligible evidence of water. “We find that Mars planet‘ The crust is weak and porous. The sediments are not well cemented. And there’s no ice or a lot of ice to fill in the knuckle spaces,” said study co-author Vasan Wright. Statement,
However, Wright said these findings do not eliminate the idea of ice existing or contributing to other minerals.
Researchers believe that Water Does not exist as a liquid but is part of the mineral composition. Study co-author Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley, explained that if water interacts with rocks, it produces a new set of clay-like minerals.
Addressing the observation, Michael said, “There is some cement, but the rocks are not filled with cement. The lack of cemented sediment points to an acute shortage of water 300 meters below the landing site of InSight’s probe.” Spacecraft,
Mars Insight Mission was launched in 2018 with the aim of studying Martian earthquakes. Instruments on the lander measure vibrations on the surface of the Red Planet.
Wright and team have studied these vibrations using computer modeling of rock physics to find out what types of minerals these vibrations travel through.
Different minerals will affect seismic velocities in a certain way. Simulations running rock models showed that the subsurface consisted mostly of unmineralized minerals. Scientists believe that if there was life on Mars it would be on the subsurface because it has a protective layer to keep out radiation. Now, researchers are looking forward to a sample-return mission that will make it easier for them to better study the surface.