Ice Blocks on Mars: Could This Be Perfect Landing Sites for Humans?

Human explorers will need to obtain water supplies from Mars itself if Mars settlements are to be established. Now, a recent assessment of prospective "glaciers" on Mars points to a location that could be "perfect for future Mars landings."

CNet said scientists have been studying underlying ice on Mars for years. They have previously proposed correlating ice formations with prospective landing places for future human visits.

According to orbiters orbiting Mars, an ice sheet exists in Arcadia Planitia, a flat plain located at about 35 degrees north latitude. Both NASA and SpaceX are examining it as a potential location for future human exploration.

(Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona via Getty Images)
HALE CRATER, MARS - UNSPECIFIED DATE: In this handout provided by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, dark, narrow streaks on the slopes of Hale Crater are inferred to be formed by the seasonal flow of water on the surface of present-day Mars. These dark features on the slopes are called "recurring slope lineae" or RSL. Scientists reported on September 28, 2015, using observations with the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer on the same orbiter detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Hale Crater, corroborating the hypothesis that the streaks are formed by briny liquid water.

NASA published a "treasure map" showing water ice deposits in 2019, some of which could be accessed with a shovel, CNet reported. Arcadia Planitia was included in NASA's list of ice hotspots. The latest research, led by planetary geologists from Western University in Canada, aids in pinpointing a probable landing site for a spacecraft in this region.

Researchers discovered in this new study that it is not simply an ice sheet but a shallow river of ice, similar to what we see in parts of Antarctica.

"When you look closer, you will find a lot of characteristics that point to these glaciers of channelized ice. But what's so odd about it is that it's in a flatline terrain," Shannon Hibbard, lead author of the paper, said per CBC/Radio-Canada.

Glaciers are most commonly found in valleys, gullies, and near the base of mountains. Instead, this is in a flat location; such ice flows on Mars were not predicted. However, this is fantastic news for future human Martians.

"We want to basically land as low, or as close to the equator as we can, and Arcadia Planitia is pretty dang close," Hibbard added.

The evidence of this large ice reserve is in a pretty level location, she remarked. Researchers now proposed that people should land somewhere flat and boring because that is the safest place to land.

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Millions of Years in the Making

The axial tilts of the Earth and Mars are 23.5 degrees and 25 degrees, respectively. While the tilt of the Earth fluctuates somewhat, the tilt of Mars can fluctuate by up to 60 degrees, according to Tanya Harrison, a Mars researcher and planetary scientist at Planet Labs, an Earth-imaging firm that was not involved in the study.

According to Harrison, ice has migrated from what was once the pole to what is now the equator during the last few tens of thousands to millions of years.

Harrison is particularly excited by the findings since they reflect what Mars was like so long ago.

"At some point in the last few tens of thousands to millions of years, that ice has actually migrated from what [was] the pole to what is today the equator, because the equator becomes the pole," she said in the same CBC/Radio-Canada report.

"Usually, when you think of glaciers flowing, they're on the side of a mountain, you know, you have a steep slope that is causing those things to flow downhill. But if you have a flat surface, it's generally kind of hard to get things moving," she added.

The ice might be utilized for irrigation, drinking water, and rocket fuel, which is created by splitting hydrogen and oxygen, which has also been proposed for lunar missions.

Gordon Osinski, the co-author of the paper and director of Western University's Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, said current radar could penetrate from 30 meters to a few kilometers below the surface. He added that there is still a lot to learn because it may also include deploying a satellite or a special rover to explore those depths.

In the top 10 to 20 meters, researchers have a significant unknown, he said. He explained that scientists would not travel deeper than that remotely to acquire ice for these human trips since they do not know if there is ice or how much there is.

Researchers published their study, titled "Evidence for Widespread Glaciation in Arcadia Planitia, Mars," in the journal Icarus.