Future crewed missions to Mars will be easier if astronauts can use water that’s already on the Red Planet without having to bring it from Earth. Scientists know that there’s ice beneath the martian surface. But how deep underground would astronauts have to dig to get it?
A team of researchers has found that on large areas of Mars, ice is only inches below the surface and would be easy to get to. This gives planners of future Mars missions many options when deciding where on our neighboring planet astronauts should land.
The researchers present their work in a paper published Tuesday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and in a talk on Friday at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Past studies have shown that water ice lurks somewhere in the top dozen or so yards of martian soil. But beyond that, they couldn’t tell how deep the ...
