Space and astronomy news
Because of the orbiters and landers that have studied Mars over the years, scientists have learned that water ice is very likely locked away just under the surface throughout the planet’s mid-latitudes. These regions – especially in the northern hemisphere — are mostly covered with smooth material and scientists suspect ice is just underneath. But …
By combining data from the Mars Express and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of researchers has produced a map of Mars that shows where the water is!
Space science doesn’t always go as planned. Sometimes when scientists think they’ve made a remarkable discovery that will make human expansion into the cosmos easier, they are just flat-out wrong. But the beauty of science is that it corrects itself in the presence of new data. The people responsible for planning future Mars missions will …
Continue reading “Mars InSight Doesn’t Find any Water ice Within 300 Meters Under its Feet”
From orbit, this landscape on Mars looks like a lacy honeycomb or a spider web. But the unusual polygon-shaped features aren’t created by Martian bees or spiders; they are actually formed from a ongoing process of seasonal change from created from water ice and carbon dioxide.
The existence of water on Mars is a contentious subject. We know there used to be water on the surface of the planet, though it’s long gone now. We know there’s frozen water underground in the world, and we know there’s water vapour in the air. But life needs liquid water. Could there be liquid …
Continue reading “There are Places Where Salty Water Could Emerge Onto the Surface of Mars”
There’s no surface water on Mars now, but there was a long time ago. If you ask most people interested in Mars, what’s left of it is underground and probably frozen. But some previous evidence shows there’s a lake of liquid water under the planet’s South Pole Layered Deposits (SPLD). Other evidence refutes it. So …
Continue reading “The Scientific Debate Rages on: Is there Water Under Mars’ South Pole?”
The search for water on Mars has consumed a lot of data collection and research time. Underground lakes have been found and then discounted again. Melted ice has been proposed and then dismissed again. All this attention focuses on one of the most important resources available to any future Martian explorers. Water is critical to …
Continue reading “Mars has Seasons, and They Might Have Revealed Where it’s Hiding its Water”
New research shows how a subsurface glacier in the Arcadia Planitia region of Mars would make an ideal landing site for a crewed mission.
Roughly 4 billion years ago, Mars looked a lot different than it does today. For starters, its atmosphere was thicker and warmer, and liquid water flowed across its surface. This included rivers, standing lakes, and even a deep ocean that covered much of the northern hemisphere. Evidence of this warm, watery past has been preserved …
Continue reading “Maybe Mars Didn’t Lose its Water After All. It’s Still Trapped on the Planet”
According to a new study, the Perseverance rover could find evidence in Jezero that will allow scientists to reconstruct the planet’s chronology.