Until recently, Mars has been investigated only through telescopes and some data captured from the early spacecraft. The polar regions of Mars are believed to have been the only significant ice tanks, mainly frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice). The rest of Mars seemed too dry to form frozen water, and there were no means to detect what was under the surface of the planet. Mars glaciers are believed to be mainly made up of rock and dust, with a thin layer of ice covering them.
This approach began to change due to planetary science missions such as Mars Odyssey and Phoenix Lander. A closer look at the Red Planet released the existence of hydrogen in the soil and in the ice, just a few inches below the surface. The water was found on Mars, and it was not as rare as it was previously thought. However, Yuval Steinberg, Oded Aharonson and Isaac Smith describes Mars glaciers consisting of 80% ice in the new study published in Icarus. This new, radar -based study opens up many new planetary science opportunities and even future human -led missions to Mars.
Read more: What is happening to the ground right now cannot explain climate patterns
What makes these glaciers special?
Frozen water powder – Just_super/Getty Images
Mars glaciers are particularly interested in scientists because they help us understand the planet’s climate history. Understanding Mars’ past can help us plan the future of our planet. It was the main interest of Weizmann’s science graduate Steinberg, who, along with mentors and colleagues from the Planetary Science Institute at Tukon and York University, was an area of interest.
They started their research by combing old research, simply realizing that many of them were done in different places, different methods. This means that the results of different glaciers across the planet were not compared. There was no noticeable model, so the team decided to try five separate glaciers and use the same methods. This would allow them to process all the data equally, compare it and draw one conclusion.
They used a shallow radar instrument attached to Mars intelligence orbit (MRO), NASA spacecraft to investigate climate and water on the Red Planet. The shallow radar allowed Steinberg and the team to collect important data from five different places about different glaciers. After the data analysis, it was clear that each glacier had the same electric signature. In other words, all glaciers analyzed had the same composition. Mars glaciers have been found to be four -fifths of ice, while the rest are rock and various debris that covers this ice. This uniformity of results means that one glacier event occurred on Mars, or several ice periods that occurred under very similar circumstances.
What does this discovery mean to humanity?
Two astronauts walking on Mars surface
Mars, as we know today, is a barren desert. However, a new study shows that it was not always like that. The presence of high purity ice means that Mars once had a lot of snow and cold, which over time led to the formation of these large glaciers at different latitudes above the planet’s surface. Knowing that glaciers consist of 80% ice, scientists can now model how much water has been distributed in the planet’s atmosphere. It also gives us the opportunity to understand how Martian climate has changed with the planet’s tilting. Following these changes on a nearby planet, you can understand how to fight climate change on Earth.
By the way, the presence and purity of ice also means the possibilities of future missions on Mars, especially if we plan to send people to the surface of the Red Planet. If we were to create ways to use water already on the planet, it would mean more effective crew missions. Pure ice can be excavated for drinking water or even fuel, which means that Mars can independently maintain human life. You should not transport all the water you need from the ground.
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