WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has reportedly detected water ice under the surface of the red planet, a finding that could be a giant step in exploration of Mars.

Many astronomers believe Mars used to have quantities of liquid water on its surface, but they have never agreed on where the water went.

Research to be published in this week's edition of the journal Science may help answer that question.

Liquid water is seen as a prerequisite for Earth-type life on a planet. Underground water ice could be a key to understanding how Mars developed and could inform future exploratory missions.

While full technical details will not be made public until Thursday, the detection of sub-surface water ice on Mars is just what Mars Odyssey was sent into space to investigate.

Launched in April 2001, Odyssey began its primary science mission last February by starting to map the amount and distribution of chemical elements and minerals on Mars' surface.

One key element in the search is hydrogen, which would mostly likely be seen in water ice in the shallow sub-surface of the planet.

Odyssey is also recording data on radiation in low orbit around Mars, to determine any radiation-related risk to future human explorers.

Mars is one of the most studied objects in our solar system. As Earth's next-door planetary neighbour, it has the advantage of location and is also thought to be similar in composition to Earth, rather than being a gas giant-like Jupiter.

Its cold and rocky surface has been captured in photographs from the orbit and from Mars Pathfinder, a robotic craft that beamed back pictures as it rolled along the Martian surface in 1997.

In addition to Mars Odyssey, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is also collecting data with the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, which has recently taken pictures of dust storms on the Martian surface.
Source link - CNN

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So much of what we know about space has changed since I was a kiddo... I love NASA though, and think this is some cool shit. Water on Mars. :-D

Leakynips.

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I think that one advantage is that you could use solar power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, which would then be usable as fuel for further exploration of the solay system. It wouldn't be that much use for getting out of the solar system, because the big effort is escaping the sun's gravitational potential and in terms of that, Mars' position isn't that much better than Earth's. It would also allow the production of oxygen for breathing through apparatus (although they are not going to be able to give Mars a nice breathable atmosphere I shouldn't have thought).

I am dubious of the advantages of the enormous amount of money that would have to be spent to achieve more manned missions, although the smaller amounts spent on unmanned exploration might be justified by the information recieved I guess, as long as people don't pretend that we can fuck this planet up and then all move somewhere else (or that 'exploring the stars stuff' that you sometimes hear banging on about; star exploration won't come from this stuff, that requires some new physics/engineering that will be discovered on earth in all likelihood (there is absolutely no sign of this new stuff being discovered/invented at all at the moment as far as I am aware)).

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Originally posted by Smug Git
I think that one advantage is that you could use solar power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, which would then be usable as fuel for further exploration of the solay system. It wouldn't be that much use for getting out of the solar system, because the big effort is escaping the sun's gravitational potential and in terms of that, Mars' position isn't that much better than Earth's. It would also allow the production of oxygen for breathing through apparatus (although they are not going to be able to give Mars a nice breathable atmosphere I shouldn't have thought).

I am dubious of the advantages of the enormous amount of money that would have to be spent to achieve more manned missions, although the smaller amounts spent on unmanned exploration might be justified by the information recieved I guess, as long as people don't pretend that we can fuck this planet up and then all move somewhere else (or that 'exploring the stars stuff' that you sometimes hear banging on about; star exploration won't come from this stuff, that requires some new physics/engineering that will be discovered on earth in all likelihood (there is absolutely no sign of this new stuff being discovered/invented at all at the moment as far as I am aware)).

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That is such a misguided attempt to rip off Total Recall , and we are directly related to the aliens in Independance Day, we (as you stated) fuck things up and move on just like locusts. I think that finding water on mars was the begining of the end for the viri and bacteria on mars, coz we'll only go there and exterminate them in order to make things habitable for ourselves anyway. This, if you break it down, is the most un-natural way of living, few people are able if not willing to survive without modern ammenities. With mars being a "raw" planet, I think we would fuck it up faster than the concrete one we have already.

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so are we gonna have bottled martian water now?

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It will prolly come out of the same tap as the rare Kilamanjaro Mountain source water they have in bottles now...

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Originally posted by Postmodgirl
so are we gonna have bottled martian water now?

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Originally posted by Smug Git


Laced with nicotine, hopefully.

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Total Recall? YEAH! If there are going to be any three breasted women on Mars in the near future... I'm there.

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i like mars in the summer

back in '86 we had fun on thoes hillsof red

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Originally posted by Smug Git
...It would also allow the production of oxygen for breathing through apparatus (although they are not going to be able to give Mars a nice breathable atmosphere I shouldn't have thought)...

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Originally posted by Dingle
I've often wondered about that... if enough water were present, and we could electrolyse it or whatever you do to make it hydrogen/oxygen fast enough, could we not create a breathable, life supporting atmosphere on mars?

i assume our own atmosphere is held in place by gravity, which i would also assume would be the same for mars. Also, at least from what I understand, the frigid climate on mars has more to do with it's lack of atmosphere than it's distance from the sun.

Turning a rocky, frozen planet into a lush tropical paradise seems pretty far-fetched, but is it really? Maybe it is, I don't know, just doesnt seem all that complicated to me.

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hmm... didn't they make some movies about all of this.....?

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The problem with an atmosphere that is not too thin to breathe is partly that Mars, with less gravity, will not be able to hold on to the sort of atmosphere that we are used to.

The other problem is, of course, that even if there is enough water to electrolyse that it would take an enormous amount of time.

With an atmosphere I guess that it would be warmer due to greenhouse effect, but Mars will still be pretty fucking cold.

More likely that we could establish a base on Mars, but it will cost an enormous amount of money from your taxes at the same time that companies complain that ecological reform will cost them too much money.

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Total Recall rocks!!

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Originally posted by Smug Git
The other problem is, of course, that even if there is enough water to electrolyse that it would take an enormous amount of time.

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