Ever since astronauts have indicated the possibility of life on the Red Planet, the scientists at NASA have been digging deep to look for the details. The America-based space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) might have big plans for its future projects on Moon; however, the agency has even bigger plans for Mars. Ever since astronauts have indicated the possibility of life on the Red Planet, the scientists at NASA have been digging deep to look for the details.
NASA has released a new paper this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. In its new study, the agency has released a look at a treasure map for water ice on Mars. As shown, the map highlights a region where Mars is said to have shallow ice deposits. Known as Arcadia Planitia, this area is a valuable water resource for both drinking and the creation of rocket fuel.
NASA’s Sylvain Piqueux, lead author of a paper, you wouldn't need a backhoe to dig up this ice. You could use a shovel. The data has been based on the observations collected by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
The water ice is found buried a few centimeters below sand‐like material, with high lateral ice depth variability, and correlated with periglacial features.
Interestingly, water ice also helps in deciding any potential landing site. This will also help the human missions to Mars to have resources for drinking water and making rocket fuel. The concept has been named in situ resource utilization.
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