NASA researchers have proposed that beneath Mars’ frozen surface, meltwater pools could potentially support microbial life. Using computer models, scientists believe that sunlight filtering through dusty ice could create the right conditions for photosynthesis to occur in shallow subsurface water.

While evidence for life on Mars has never been found, a new NASA study proposes that microbes could find a potential home beneath frozen water on the planet’s surface. Through computer modeling, the study’s authors have shown that the amount of sunlight that can shine through water ice would be enough for photosynthesis to occur in shallow pools of meltwater below the surface of that ice.