Mars is NOT dry: New global maps of the near surface ice on Mars
Near-surface ice on Mars, indicated by white-to-blue.
Two teams of scientists today released competing but remarkably comparable maps of near-surface ice on Mars, showing where orbital radar data suggests there is ample ice in the first 15 feet of depth.
The map above comes from Figure 2 of paper 1 [pdf], led by Hanna Sizemore. The blue areas down to about 40 degrees latitude north and south indicate places where the data suggests near-surface ice exists at depths as little as two feet. The maps in Paper 2 [pdf], led by Samuel Courville, are quite similar. Both are from the Planetary Science Institute’s (PSI). From the discussion section of paper 2:
It has long been expected that the stability of water ice increases with poleward latitude because of colder temperatures, and thus the “ice table” likely deepens equatorward. These studies largely find that ice is stable at depths shallower than one meter only at latitudes greater than ∼40°–50° poleward. However, theoretical ice stability at present does not rule out the existence of midlatitude ice that is a relict from past climates that were more conducive for ice. It is simultaneously known that ice has been exposed at latitudes as far south as 35 north. Abundant mid-latitude ice is also likely present within debris-covered glaciers . So, it is highly likely that relict ice exists.
We present a data-driven analysis of near-surface ice, disjoint from ice stability analyses. We find that the regions above 45°–50° poleward show high probabilities of near-surface ice—often in excess of pore space—consistent with ice stability predictions and past studies. Though the data disfavors high ice quantities at lower latitudes, the data cannot rule out the presence of near-surface ice within pore space in many regions. Lastly, the existing orbital data are insufficient to constrain ice quantity and ice depth, especially for any ice that may exist at depths of ∼1–10 m.
These maps are also comparable to earlier maps (see here, here and here) and continue to confirm the ample existence of ice on Mars above the mid-latitudes, with the transition zone from the dry equatorial regions to the icy higher latitude regions found in the latitudes from 30 to 45 degrees, exactly where orbital imagery finds lots of features resembling glaciers.
The scientists note that though there is no ice found or expected near the surface in the dry tropics of Mars. there is no reason to preclude its existence deeper underground. In fact, other research (here and here) has already found evidence it likely exists.
In other words, the data continues to tell us that future colonists will not struggle to find water on Mars. Their big problem will be to dig it up and process it for use.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The perchlorates, I presume.
I would like to see them place a Star Wars type “vaporator” on mars to start to automatically extract water from the air.
Large dehumidifiers run by Solar panels collecting water into 500 gallon tanks resting on the ground.
Either by Compression or Air conditioner temperature style.
There are designs for those, but the air is so dry they won’t produce much. Zubrin was describing them as far back as the 1990s.
An experiment on Perseverance has already demonstrated technology for extracting oxygen from the air, and it is efficient enough to work now, as designed.
And there is no reason to extract water from air (which as Nate P notes, is dry and won’t produce much). Didn’t you read the post? Its whole point is that there is gigantic amounts available in the ground, across more than half the planet’s surface. Your proposal is like telling someone to wait for rain for drinking water, as they sail a boat on a fresh water lake.
Well for one my idea can be done without people. Just drop everything as one large unit.
It could collect and store the water for years until people do get there. Then a robot tanker truck could drive from unit to unit and collect the water to bring back to the first colonists or a large central storage tank.
A first collection system until your mining water idea is implemented. Intermittent steps,
Something that could run for years until people get there.
Then why not proposed something that would process the water from the ground? Or at least, send instruments on the first Starships to study that soil closely to figure out what exactly is there, and follow up with such instruments to do what you suggest, but more effectively.
That processing might be quite simple.
Drilling a deep hole into the ground is hard to do even on earth. Doing so robotic would be close to impossible as of now.
Are we drilling wells or are we bulldozing it around as slush and then melting out the water.
Plus water extracted from the air is already clean. Almost no purculates, salts to filter out. No solids to filter our. Almost ready to use.
How about just huge evaporation domes to evaporate the water out of the near surface area. They can slowly travel over the ground evaporating and collecting the water.