Exploration: there may be an ocean under the crust of Mars

Researchers already knew that Mars was once wet and its entire surface was covered with a deep ocean

from 100 to 1500 m; that's about twicesmaller than the Atlantic Ocean. Scientists note that since life on Earth exists almost everywhere where there is water, the likelihood that life existed on Mars increases significantly.

The red planet soon after losta protective magnetic field, and solar radiation and wind deprived her of most of her air and water. The amount of moisture in the Mars atmosphere could cover it with 20-40 m thick water.

However, the results of a new study suggestthe fact that Mars could not have lost all the water. Data from the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission and the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter showed that, with the rate of disappearance of water from the atmosphere, Mars would lose water only at a depth of 3 to 25 m in 4.5 billion years.

Scientists speculate that much of the water that was once on Mars may be hiding in the crust of the Red Planet, trapped in the crystalline structures of rocks below the surface.

Oxygen will definitely disappear: what will happen to the Earth without the main source of life

Researchers now speculate that Marslost from 40% to 95% of its water during the Noachian period, about 3.7-4.1 billion years ago. Their model showed that the amount of water on the Red Planet reached its current level about 3 billion years ago.

“Mars essentially became the dry planet we know today, about 3 billion years ago. But now we have guesses about where all the water from it went, ”added NASA.

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