I just read an article about recent NASA seismic data indicating water on Mars deep within the Martian interior. There have been many indications of the ancient flowing water on the surface of Mars.

Mars cooled billions of years ago, lost the molten dynamo in its center. Subsequently the magnetic field disappeared which had protected the atmosphere. Cosmic rays from the Sun then stripped away its atmosphere causing surface water to boil away. However, water protected from exposure to the near vacuum conditions on the surface could exist deep underground. This is especially true if, as suspected that water has a high saline content. On Earth viable microbes exist miles underground in diamond mines on the African continent. They are autotrophs that can live on chemical energy. It is possible extremophiles (organisms that can thrive in extreme conditions) could exist on Mars. That is, of course if life got a foothold there during the Martian ‘wet period’.

In my forthcoming book, I mention the possibility of liquid water existing deep within lava tubes. The first humans on Mars will need to test for the presence of existing or past life. If found it would we would need to protect it against contamination with Earth organisms. The presence of native Martian life would slow and limit human activity on the planet.

However, it would be the most exciting discovery in the biological sciences ever.