Ice Depth Varies Across the Surface of Mars
NASA’s Mars Odyssey has performed a detailed analysis of water ice deposits beneath the surface of Mars, and found they vary greatly in depth. In other words, when future spacecraft land on the surface of Mars and start digging to reach these icy deposits, they might hit paydirt right away, or have to drill and drill and drill.
Mars Odyssey is equipped with Thermal Emission Imaging System as part of its suite of scientific instruments. This camera allows the spacecraft to detect subtle differences in temperature on the Martian surface. Regions which have ice close to the surface retain heat differently than regions where the ice layer is much deeper. This allows scientists to built up a map of ice depth.
In some cases, the ice will only be a few centimetres beneath the Martian surface, while in other situations, it could be many metres deep.
Future spacecraft, such as the Phoenix Mars Lander, may need to dig deep to find the ice.
Original Source: NASA/JPL/ASU News Release
Recent Posts
China is Going Back to the Moon Again With Chang'e-6
On Friday, May 3rd, the sixth mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (Chang'e-6) launched…
What Can Early Earth Teach Us About the Search for Life?
Earth is the only life-supporting planet we know of, so it's tempting to use it…
China Creates a High-Resolution Atlas of the Moon
Multiple space agencies are looking to send crewed missions to the Moon's southern polar region…
Dinkinesh's Moonlet is Only 2-3 Million Years Old
Last November, NASA's Lucy mission conducted a flyby of the asteroid Dinkinish, one of the…
The Universe Could Be Filled With Ultralight Black Holes That Can't Die
Steven Hawking famously calculated that black holes should evaporate, converting into particles and energy over…
Starlink on Mars? NASA Is Paying SpaceX to Look Into the Idea
NASA has given the go-ahead for SpaceX to work out a plan to adapt its…