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
Unusual Laser SETI Signal Candidates Found with Benji Fields [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:47
In this episode of Event Horizon, John Michael Godier is joined by SETI scientist Benji Fields to explore one of the most intriguing optical SETI searches to date. Using archival data from the HARPS spectrograph, Fields…
Black Hole Dyson Spheres [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:59
An exploration of the idea of building a Dyson Sphere or Swarm around a black hole. My Patreon Page:https://www.patreon.com/johnmichaelgodierMy Event Horizon Channel:https://www.youtube.com/eventhorizonshow Music:Cylinde…
Does Interstellar Panspermia Seed Life? Featuring Dr. Karen Meech [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:59
John Michael Godier discusses if there could be life on ice shell moons like Europa and Enceladus and the possibility of interstellar objects such as Oumuamua seeding life on other planets with Dr. Karen Meech of the Uni…
How Creativity Works with Anson Mount and Branan Edgens [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:59
A conversation with the hosts of the Well podcast Anson Mount, who recently portrayed Captain Christopher Pike on Star Trek Discovery, and filmmaker Branan Edgens. Branan discussed his plans for a science documentary bas…
The Future: Drawing From Our Past with Townsends [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:53
In part two part episode we are joined by historian and host Jon Townsend who does historical reenactment, is the host of the youtube channel Townsend’s, and is the proprietor of the online store, https://www.townsends.u…
The Universe's Endgame with Christian Ready [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:47
Christian Ready of Launchpad Astronomy joins John to discuss the end of the universe, red dwarfs living for trillions of years, proxima centauri, Pluto, Ultima Thule, and planet nine.Christian's links: http://www.launchp…
Finding Solutions to the Fermi Paradox with Harvard's Dr. Avi Loeb [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:09
A new interview with Dr. Abraham "Avi" Loeb from Harvard and update on the subject of Oumuamua, the Fermi Paradox, interstellar objects. Life around red dwarf stars, solar flares, and the search for intelligent alien civ…
Where is Planet 9? with Dr. Konstantin Batygin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:20
We speak with Dr. Konstantin Batygin on the search for planet 9, and how he and his partner Mike Brown might discover it very soon.Planet Nine Hypothesis: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1902.10103.pdfDoes Planet Nine Exist? Featu…