Science

Scientists find thick sheets of ice just below Mars' surface

January 13, 2018 15:29·
Game-changing discovery: Scientists believe massive ice sheets on Mars could create oxygen for humans

Game-changing discovery: Scientists believe massive ice sheets on Mars could create oxygen for humans

However, as the scientists note, the polar caps are inhospitable and ground ice was limited.

A team led by USGS scientist Colin Dundas used the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which identified eight locations on the Red Planet which have steep, pole-facing cliffs, some as high as 325 feet that reveals slabs of clear ice, exposed by the forces of erosion.

Scientists examining the images send back by MRO have found eight different locations on Mars that reveal enormous deposits of nearly pure water ice, which lie just 2 metres (6.5 feet) below the surface. Researchers have found that there are pure ice sheets that extend up to 100 meters deep.

"There is shallow ground ice under roughly a third of the Martian surface, which records the recent history of Mars", said Colin Dundas of the U S Geological Survey's Astrogeology Science Center.

This exposed ice is slowly sublimating away, turning directly from solid to vapour, because even though temperatures on Mars are well below freezing, the air pressure is too thin for the ice to hold its solid shape.

Image shows modern Mars (left) dry and barren, compared with the same scene over 3.5 billion years ago covered in water (right).

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According to National Geographic "human missions to Mars would likely rely on extracting water from the local environment, either baking it out of hydrated minerals or mining it from ice deposits". Since there are few craters on the surface at these sites, the authors propose that the ice was formed relatively recently.

The authors of the study have said that the latest discovery will be helpful for the establishment of a base on the Red Planet, as the water could be used for drinking, potentially create oxygen and fuel.

One of the co-authors of the study, planetary scientist Shane Byrne, said: "Here we have what we think is nearly pure water ice buried just below the surface". Whilst water ice is known to be present in some locations on Mars, many questions remain about its layering, thickness, purity, and extent.

"You can go out with a bucket and shovel and just collect as much water as you need".

At this wedge-shaped pit on Mars, the steep slope (or scarp) at the northern edge (toward the top of the image) exposes a cross-section of a thick sheet of underground water ice.

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