Camera Captures Mars site with Signs of Water — and Scientists Say It’s Ideal For Human Settlement
"Life on Mars" is a dream for many space aficionados. For several decades, experts have been trying to examine whether Mars exhibits any signs of life or has elements that could support life. A big step in this pursuit has been taken by experts, according to the University of Mississippi. In a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, a team of researchers claims they have detected near-surface ice at certain sites of the Red Planet. If this assertion is true, then there is a possibility that life could exist on this planet. The other implication of this finding is that these near-surface ice sites could become the perfect candidates for future settlement on Mars.
Discovery of Near-Surface Water
The examination used satellite images by HiRISE, the highest-resolution camera ever sent from Earth to another planet. From the photos, experts spotted features like ice-exposing craters and polygonal terrain, which are typically indicative of near-surface ice on the planet's Amazonis Planitia region. Further investigation implied that the ice was present less than 1 meter below the surface. The Amazonis Planitia region is present around the northern mid-latitudes of Mars. The area is crucial, as the middle latitudes have long been eyed as an ideal location for future Mars missions' landing. The region receives enough sunlight to power the equipment associated with the mission, and at the same time, it is cold enough to preserve the near-surface ice. Researchers believe that all these facets make Amazonis Planitia the best candidate for a landing site.
How Can the Ice be of Use?
The most obvious use of the newly found ice would be to fulfill the drinking needs of life forms, according to researchers. Also, some other issues could be resolved by the presence of ice. Experts may break it into hydrogen and oxygen, the former of which is used as rocket fuel, and the latter is essential for breathing. The presence of these elements on Mars would remove the requirement of sending spacecraft to Earth for a resupply of resources.
"For the moon, it would take us one week, more or less, to go back and forth to Earth for resupply," said Giacomo Nodjoumi, a postdoctoral researcher at the Space Science Data Center of the Italian Space Agency and a co-author of the study. "But for Mars, it would take months. So, we have to be prepared for not having resupply from Earth for extended periods of time." The presence of ice would significantly reduce the energy investment associated with these missions. The discovery of ice so close to the surface will also aid experts, as it would be easy to extract it for in situ resource utilization, Erica Luzzi, a planetary geologist and postdoctoral researcher in the Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute, shared.
Habitat for Life
The possible presence of ice water could be evidence for past or present life forms. "On Earth, ice can preserve biomarkers of past life, and it can also host microbial populations. So, it could tell us if Mars was ever habitable," Luzzi explained. To figure out if the ice has the possibility of supporting life, experts need to examine actual samples from the site. Currently, the researchers are preparing to conduct radar analysis to assess the ice distribution and depth in the area. Moreover, it is not the first time experts have looked into ice as a possible life-supporting medium on the Red Planet.
NASA scientists have previously focused on dusty ice present at the surface of Mars as a possible site for life. However, their assertions remained inconclusive because they were unsure whether ice as a habitat would survive the Red Planet's dry climate. They did propose that if the upper layer of ice creates a protective environment for subsurface pools inside the ice, there is a possibility that microbial life thrives in those pools. In the current study by Luzzi, the ice below the surface provides more validity to the assertion that life can exist in it due to the protection it enjoys from the inhospitable environment.
For more information, you can read the study published in the AGU journal by Erica Luzzi, Jennifer L. Heldmann, Kaj E. Williams, Giacomo Nodjoumi, Ariel Deutsch, and Alexander Sehlke.