What’s Hiding Under Mars | Dr. Sam Courville

What’s Hiding Under Mars | Dr. Sam Courville

Author: John Michael Godier November 17, 2025 Duration: 51:03

Mars may look dead, but under its surface lies a record of its ancient water and perhaps even the ingredients for life. Planetary scientist Dr. Samuel Courville discusses the latest research on Martian ice, groundwater, volcanic history, and the potential for subsurface brine.Links:https://swim.psi.edu/https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021GL093880https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/abda5000:00:00 What’s Hiding Under Mars 00:01:55 Mars vs Ceres: Where Water Survives 00:05:33 The Allan Hills Meteorite and Ancient Clues 00:07:12 Mapping Mars’ Hidden Ice Today 00:10:40 What the Polar Caps Reveal About Mars’ Past 00:15:26 Using Radar to Probe Beneath the Surface 00:19:42 Mars as a Frozen Story of Early Earth 00:22:17 Glaciers and Volcanoes on the Red Planet 00:28:01 Did Mars Snow Water? 00:31:42 Subsurface Brines and Possible Hidden Lakes 00:38:17 Searching for Groundwater Deep Underground 00:43:12 Mars’ Ancient Hydrologic Cycle 00:48:21 When Mars Lost Its Water 00:52:43 Why Valles Marineris Still Mystifies Scientists 00:58:26 Future Missions to Map Mars’ Ice 01:04:03 The SWIM Project – Finding Ice for Exploration 01:11:38 Could Humans Extract Ice on Mars? 01:15:29 Lava Tubes: Potential Habitats 01:20:10 Ethical Risks of Rushing to Mars 01:24:36 Life, Contamination, and Planetary Protection 01:29:54 Would You Go to Mars? 01:33:42 Final Thoughts – Mars Still Has SecretsYouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz3qvETKooktNgCvvheuQDw/joinPodcast: hhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/john-michael-godier/subscribeApple: https://apple.co/3CS7rjTMore JMG https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnMichaelGodierWant to support the channel?Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EventHorizonShowFollow us at other places!@JMGEventHorizonMusic:https://stellardrone.bandcamp.com/https://migueljohnson.bandcamp.com/https://leerosevere.bandcamp.com/https://aeriumambient.bandcamp.com/FOOTAGE:NASAESA/HubbleESO - M.KornmesserESO - L.CalcadaESO - Jose Francisco Salgado (josefrancisco.org)NAOJUniversity of WarwickGoddard Visualization StudioLangley Research CenterPixabay


Curiosity about the cosmos often starts with a simple question, and that's where John Michael Godier's Event Horizon finds its rhythm. Hosted by author and futurist John Michael Godier, this podcast delves into the profound and the perplexing at the edges of our understanding. Each episode builds a narrative, weaving together discussions on astronomy, astrophysics, and the latest space science news with broader themes of technology, history, and futurism. The conversations are grounded by special guests who bring expertise and diverse perspectives, turning complex ideas into engaging explorations. You'll find the dialogue moves from the concrete details of scientific discovery to the speculative implications for our future, all with a thoughtful and accessible tone. This isn't just a recap of headlines; it's a deep dive into the context and consequences of what we're learning about the universe. For anyone who looks up at the night sky and wonders about black holes, the potential for life elsewhere, or where our technology might take us next, this podcast offers a compelling space to linger on those big ideas. The production emphasizes clarity and depth, making even the most daunting topics feel within reach. Tune in for a regular journey to the frontiers of science and human thought.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

John Michael Godier's Event Horizon
Podcast Episodes
Is Earth The Best Type of Planet For Life? With Fraser Cain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:18
What type of planet is the best for life in the universe?Are other exoplanets better for life than earth? What about ocean worlds? Also, what is the latest with the JWST and Oumuamua and Comet Borisov.And is Avi Loeb's p…
Are There Alien Artifacts in Our Solar System? with Dr. James Benford [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:42
Von Neumann probes, self-replicating spacecraft, or Alien lurkers and alien artifacts all represent the idea that somewhere in our solar system there could be evidence of an alien civilization and that they may have been…
Why Humans Will Never Colonize Mars with Gizmodo’s George Dvorsky [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:50
George Dvorsky says in his article 'Humans Will Never Colonize Mars' on Gizmodo that,“The suggestion that humans will soon set up bustling, long-lasting colonies on Mars is something many of us take for granted. What thi…
A Quantum Beginning for a Two-Sided Universe with Dr. Neil Turok [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:56
How did it all begin? How did this universe in which we live come to be? The story begins in the early 20th century with Georges LeMaitre who originated the concept that an expanding universe could be extrapolated back t…
Looking for the Origin of our Universe with Dr. Brian Keating [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:57
John Michael Godier and Brian Keating discuss the experiment he designed to look at the physics of the big bang as well as why he rushed releasing his findings.Brian Keating is a professor of physics and author of Losing…
Why is Betelgeuse Dimming? With Dr. Edward Guinan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:55
Why is Betelgeuse dimming? Is Betelgeuse about to explode? Betelgeuse is a variable red super giant star located in the Orion constellation. Most estimations have it going supernova within the next 100,000 years, but cou…
Will Human Civilization End? with Dr. David Grinspoon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:26
How Long Will Human Civilization Last? When did the Anthropocene start?Looking for life on Europa and Pluto, do ice shell worlds have a better chance for life than terrestrial worlds?Dr. David Grinspoon is an Astrobiolog…
Cold Quasars: The Death of Galaxies with Dr. Allison Kirkpatrick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:07
What are quasars?Are Black Holes Really Black?Dr. Allison Kirkpatrick, astrophysicist at the University of Kansas, recently announced her discovery of cold quasars a new object in the field of astronomy — galaxies featur…