These are actually the same techniques we use to prospect for water on Earth, or to look for oil and gas,
On Earth what we know is where it is wet enough and there are enough sources of energy, there is microbial life very deep in Earth’s subsurface,
On Earth, groundwater infiltrated from the surface" to deep underground
I’m inspired and I hope the public is also inspired,
At these depths, the crust is warm enough for water to exist as a liquid. At more shallow depths, the water would be frozen as ice,
Early Mars had liquid water on its surface in rivers, lakes and possibly oceans. The crust on Mars could also have been full of water from very early in its history, too,
InSight was able to measure the speed of seismic waves and how they change with depth. The speed of seismic waves depends on what the rock is made of, where it has cracks and what fills the cracks,
Drilling to these depths is very challenging. Looking for places where geological activity expels this water, possibly the tectonically active Cerberus Fossae (a region in the northern hemisphere of Mars), is an alternative to looking for deep liquids,
A mid-crust whose rocks are cracked and filled with liquid water best explains both seismic and gravity data,
Understanding the Martian water cycle is critical for understanding the evolution of the climate, surface and interior,
The goal is to connect what's inside the rock to the speed of sound,
There are deep and long-standing questions on Mars, that [this study] helps us answer — it gives us clues into a water cycle that is unaffected by humans,
Water seems to be essential for life,
The presence of water does not signify that there is life, but water is thought to be an important ingredient for life,
Our liquid water estimate is more than the water volumes proposed to have filled possible ancient Martian oceans,
On Earth, where there is liquid water, there is life, so if liquid water aquifers are present on Mars now, they are a prime target in the search for life,
Yes the amount of water down in the crust is potentially vast, but it will be difficult to access or utilise,
Early in its history, Mars would be as conducive to simple life as Earth, if not more so,
Establishing that there is a big reservoir of liquid water provides some window into what the climate was like or could be like
The mission greatly exceeded my expectations,