Mars Water Ice Mapped to Help Future Human Missions

Topic: Space

Scientists at the Planetary Science Institute have created new maps of water ice on Mars. These maps will help NASA plan future human missions to the planet. The maps show where water ice is likely to be found and how deep it is buried.

The Planetary Science Institute (PSI) has been working with NASA to map the location of water ice on Mars. Water ice is a valuable resource for astronauts, as it can be used to make fuel for their return trip to Earth. The PSI team led by Hanna Sizemore and Samuel Courville created two new papers that highlight global maps of subsurface water ice and identify the missions and tools needed to increase the certainty of these maps.

The Martian surface is not suitable for long-term water ice because the extremely low-density air causes it to sublimate, or change from a solid to a gas. NASA's Phoenix lander has used scoops to uncover buried ice and cameras to watch it sublimate away. The PSI team used data from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor's Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) to locate water ice within about a meter of the surface.

The maps were created by analyzing how Mars' surface and atmosphere respond to changes in sunlight. By looking at cooling and warming rates, researchers can determine what lies beneath the surface. The PSI team compared their maps with two other state-of-the-art maps that used different techniques to process mission data. The compared maps show good agreement, but there are still places where new data is needed to better understand what's going on.

Why It Matters

This research will help NASA plan future human missions to Mars and ensure the success of these missions by providing accurate information about water ice resources.

Key Facts

• The Planetary Science Institute has created new maps of water ice on Mars to help NASA plan future human missions.
• Water ice is a valuable resource for astronauts, as it can be used to make fuel for their return trip to Earth.
• NASA's Phoenix lander has used scoops to uncover buried ice and cameras to watch it sublimate away.
• The PSI team used data from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor's Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) to locate water ice within about a meter of the surface.
• The maps were created by analyzing how Mars' surface and atmosphere respond to changes in sunlight.

Key Terms

sublimate

to change from a solid to a gas

in situ resource utilization (ISRU)

using resources found on another planet to support human missions

Implications

This research will help NASA plan future human missions to Mars and ensure the success of these missions by providing accurate information about water ice resources.