Researchers spot the perfect place to land humans on Mars
"If we're going to send humans to Mars, you need H2O and not just for drinking, but for propellant and all manner of applications. And finding it close to the surface is helpful because we can easily extract it and use it. This is called in situ resource utilisation, and it's an important practice for any space exploration," Erica Luzzi, a planetary geologist and postdoctoral researcher, said.In a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the team tracks a potential water source for future human exploration.advertisementUsing high-resolution orbital imagery, the team analysed the Martian surface and found evidence of ice less than 1 meter below the planet's surface in the Amazonis Planitia region. The team identified ice-exposing craters, polygonal terrain and other morphologies that typically suggest ice near the surface."For the moon, it would take us one week, more or less, to go back and forth to Earth for resupply. But for Mars, it would take months. So, we have to be prepared for not having resupply from Earth for extended periods. The most important resources are oxygen to breathe and water to drink. That's what makes our candidate landing site really promising," Giacomo Nodjoumi, co-author of the paper added.To get samples of the ice, humans would have to send a robot or an exploration mission."The next step would be radar analyses to better understand the depth and patchiness of the ice," the Ole Miss researcher said. "The lag deposit, material on top of the ice, might vary, which affects whether the ice is preserved."- EndsTrending Reel
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