A second home close at hand? The probe sent back data that the planet is rich in groundwater ice

On the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii, USA, there is a habitat and research station HI-SEAS for simulating the environment of the moon and Mars. Here, researchers live and work in this habitat and research station for several days each time. to several months. During the experiment, when researchers leave the research station for "extravehicular" activities, they need to wear heavy simulated space suits to simulate future life and work on the surface of the moon or Mars. Although this research station is only 110 square meters, it can meet the needs of these "astronauts" for living and research work. The reason why these experiments are carried out here is to prepare for future missions to the moon and Mars.

As early as the 1960s, humans have successfully sent astronauts to the lunar surface. During the entire Apollo manned lunar landing program, a total of 6 groups of 12 astronauts stepped on the lunar surface, and then returned to the earth smoothly. Bring back precious lunar rock samples "specialties". The more distant Mars may also welcome its first astronauts in the near future. According to NASA's plan, it is expected that a spacecraft will be launched to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s. Compared with the moon, going to Mars is more difficult than imagined, because Mars is farther away than the moon, which not only leads to a long time to go to Mars, but also the entire mission to Mars. Astronauts who set foot on Mars are supplied with various necessary materials, such as oxygen, water, food, etc. Therefore, when humans set foot on Mars in the future, it is necessary to solve not only the habitat problem of these astronauts, but also the materials they need.

Probe finds Mars rich in groundwater ice

We have seen photos of Mars returned by the probe before. Although the Mars in the photos does not seem to have any vitality and is desolate everywhere, many data show that there is still a large amount of water and ice on Mars, which can even meet the needs of future astronautics. to meet the needs of personnel landing on Mars and immigrating to Mars.

According to a research paper published in the scientific journal Icarus, data from the Mars Odyssey orbiter shows that there is a lot of groundwater ice in the mid-latitudes of Mars; data from the Phoenix Mars rover also shows that in the cold north of Mars There is also a large amount of water ice material in the plain; the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) also found abundant groundwater ice under the Arcadia Planitia plain, and the MRO's ground penetrating radar shows that the water ice material in the Martian subsurface is expected to extend to about 38 meters deep. . Using this data, scientists were able to map the distribution of water ice on Mars.

Could Mars become a second home?

Mars is a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone in our solar system. Its size is smaller than that of Earth, and its diameter is only about half that of Earth. However, Mars and Earth have many similarities, such as similar rotation periods. Moreover, as the "neighbor" of the earth, Mars can be said to be close at hand compared with those distant exoplanets, and the difficulty of exploring Mars is much lower than that of exploring distant exoplanets. Many scientists believe that Mars may become the second home of mankind in the solar system in the near future.

Although there is no trace of life on Mars, the probe continues to find that there is a large amount of water ice on Mars, and the existence of water means the possibility of life. Before humans set foot on Mars in the future, robots can first go to Mars to develop water resources, build habitats on Mars, and grow crops on Mars. They can also decompose water to obtain oxygen and hydrogen, which can be used as fuel for vehicles such as aircraft. When we make these preparations, human landing on Mars may become a reality.