Martian equator, as expected, there was no trace of water

The Insight mission on Mars. Provided by NASA

Contrary to expectations, the fact that there is no trace of water on Mars’ equator has been revealed by geological data provided by the rover ‘Insight’.

Dr. Bashan Wright (geophysicist) of the Scripps Ocean Research Institute at the University of California, San Diego, USA, analyzed seismic wave data collected by the InSight through Marsquake and published the results in ‘Geophysical Research Letters’.

InSight landed on the ‘Elysium Plain’ near the equator of Mars in 2018, installed a seismometer, and collected seismic data on Mars earthquakes and meteorite impacts.

Seismic waves are waves generated by earthquakes inside a planet. Seismic waves spread in all directions from the source of the earthquake, and the properties of the material can be analyzed through information on the material that has passed through the seismic wave.

According to the analysis results published this time, there was no ice in the surface sediment within 300 meters of the landing site of the InSight, or even a very small amount if there was ice.

“When rocks come into contact with water, they can form new minerals such as clay,” said Michael Mangga, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who co-authored the paper. , but not many.”

Scientists who have been studying Mars have been exploring the underground, believing that there is no water on the surface of Mars and there is a high possibility that life is underground if there is life as it is exposed to radiation.

Meanwhile, Insight was launched on May 5, 2018 and landed on Mars on November 26 of the same year, performing geological exploration missions until now.

Since landing, the Inseat has provided a great help to Mars research on Earth, such as recording wind noise on Mars and recording seismic waves from intermittent earthquakes.

However, since last July, some equipment, including seismographs, have been unable to operate due to a problem with charging due to dust accumulated on the solar panel.

Researchers predict that the signal from the Insight will be completely cut off by December.

Currently, Insight’s solar charge is only one-tenth that of when it first landed on Mars.