One of the spacecraft sent to the red planet detected a water source in the Grand Canyon of Mars. This could be a major factor in shaping future manned missions. It also means that it could be an exciting new adventure of discovery for humanity as well.
All we have to do is build a crewed spacecraft to Mars. Then we have to make a successful landing next to the canyon there and investigate the source and content of this water. In addition, these data need to be investigated by scientists living in the colony that will probably be established on the planet’s surface. Seems difficult doesn’t it?
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind
The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) spacecraft, operated by the European Space Agency and the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has found evidence of substantial water in the Valles Marineris canyon system on the red planet. This discovery is said to be the focus of future manned missions.
Orbiter has an instrument that maps hydrogen in the upper layer of Martian soil. Data collected on this instrument shows an unusual amount of hydrogen in Candor Chaos, a central region of Valles Marineris. This suggests that 40 percent of the near-surface material in that area could be water.
Igor Mitrofanov from the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (He is the lead author of a study on water findings published in the journal Icarus) made the following statement on the subject:
With TGO, we can look a meter below this dusty layer and see what’s really going on under the Martian surface, and more importantly, find water-rich ‘oases’ that were undetectable by previous instruments.
Valles Marineris is so large that NASA has named it the “Grand Canyon of Mars”. In fact, it is much larger than the famous canyons in the USA. Its length increases to 1860 miles, or 3,000 kilometers. Its diameter is up to 5 miles, or 8 kilometers, at some points. In other words, it has an area almost as large as the European continent.
The water found in Valles Marineris may be related to minerals. But the researchers say it’s more likely to be in the form of ice. This raises questions about how water ice is preserved in a region of Mars where evaporation is expected. Making a statement on the subject, ESA said:
This suggests that in order to conserve water, some particular, as yet unclear, mix of conditions must exist in Valles Marineris, or be renewed in some way.
Scientists are working to uncover both the history and current existence of water on Mars, investigate what hidden lakes might be, and map water ice available to future human explorers. Also, finding and using local water resources will be the key to colonizing Mars.
Colin Wilson, ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter project scientist, said:
Learning more about how and where water exists on present-day Mars is crucial to understanding what happened to Mars’ once abundant water. It will also help us search for habitable environments, possible signs of past life, and organic material from the early days of Mars.
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