Mars could have enough water stored underground to cover the planet's surface, scientists say

https://news.sky.com ^ | 13 August 2024 | By Dylan Donnelly, news reporter

[RomanSoldier19]

Using data from NASA's InSight lander - which carried out a four-year-long mission that ended in 2022 - researchers say the amount of water underground could cover all of Mars with between one to two kilometres of water.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Could”

It COULD have Skittles mines.

[I-ambush]

Chlorine + water = swimming pool

[iluvschnitzle]

freeze?

[Ignatz]

...and the perfect disgust above.

[Ignatz]

Er, make that “perfect disguise above”, lol!

Thanks, Auto-Wrong-Word-Inserter!

[Allegra]

Drill, baby, drill?

[Magnum44]

[aimhigh]

Without an atmosphere what would happen if the water were on the surface?

If you put a glass of water in a vacuum chamber and lower the atmospheric pressure, the water will boil away, regardless of the temperature.

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

• Massive ocean discovered beneath the Earth's crust containing more water than on the surface [05/08/2023]
• An Underground Ocean? Scientists Discover Water Deep Within Earth [10/21/2022]
• Mysterious freshwater reservoir found hidden beneath the ocean [06/24/2019]
• The Earth Is Eating Its Own Oceans [11/15/2018]
• Huge Aquifers Discovered Deep Under Drought-Stricken California [06/28/2016]
• Study: Deep beneath the earth, more water than in all the oceans combined [06/16/2015]
• Earth May Have Created Its Own Water Deep Within; And There's Still Enough There To Fill The Pacific [12/19/2014]
• Volume of world's oldest water estimated [12/18/2014]
• Rare Mineral Ringwoodite Included within Diamond Points to 'Oceans' beneath Earth [06/16/2014]
• Scientists discover massive ocean of water 400 miles underground [06/16/2014]
• Earth may have underground 'ocean' three times that on surface [06/13/2014]
• World's largest water reservoir found deep in earth [06/13/2014]
• Amazingly, the earths water is really a miniscule amount [05/15/2012]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day -- All the Water on Planet Earth [05/15/2012]
• Huge 'Ocean' Discovered Inside Earth [03/02/2007]

[CFW]

I assume our government plans to tax it. I guess they will send Elon Musk the bill since he is the loudest proponent of travel to Mars.

[OneVike]

Yea and Kamala is one of the smartest members of MENSA

[baclava]

I know, don’t u just hate that?

[Redcitizen]

Hmm. Borrowing that pic.

[ckilmer]

agree. the trick is to make desalination cheap enough to farm any desert on earth.

the way you do that is to develop desalination plants for mars.

[RomanSoldier19]

better?

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https://www.ft.com/content/97f28b37-4ced-46ad-867f-b8108484d0c4

On Monday, researchers in the US revealed they had seen seismic signals indicating a water reservoir buried deep below the crust. In terms of volume, it is not so much a puddle but an infinity pool, enough to cover the entire planet with an ocean at least one kilometre deep.

[jmacusa]

It would evaporate very quickly.

[SunkenCiv]

Perchlorate.

[SunkenCiv]

Yup! What Campion said. If humans are to live there, ultimately frozen nitrogen and oxygen from the outer solar system will have to be literally bagged up and delivered to the Martian surface. I'm not a fan of the "solar wind would strip the atmosphere" hypothesis, but even those who are note that, at Mars' distance from the Sun, it would take at least 100,000 years to strip it.