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In the upper atmosphere of Mars, water is split up into hydrogen and oxygen atoms by the UV radiation from sunlight, which can then easily escape into space (illustration).
Copyright: ESA
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Paris, France – Barely a month after NASA released a “treasure map” of water ice immediately beneath the surface of Mars, a new study dampened hopes that Mars water would once be used as a safe source of vital water for manned stations on the Red Planet to be able to. The water of Mars therefore seems to evaporate into space much faster than previously thought.
In December 2019, the NASA released a map of Mars, are listed on the water ice storage, which are already a few centimeters below the surface of Mars and would therefore be easily accessible for future manned Mars missions and stations. “Water ice will be key to any future mission to Mars. Since there is little space on board the spaceships themselves to carry sufficient supplies such as water, Mars astronauts will have to extract water both for drinking water and for the production of rocket fuel on site. (…) The now published map for water ice stores directly below the surface of Mars could be a treasure map for this and thus also provide possible landing locations for manned missions. ”
Water Treasure Map of Mars: Cold colors show ice stores near the surface, while warm colors show deeper water ice stores. Black zones mark those regions in which a spaceship would land in fine dust. The frame marks the ideal landing region for a future manned mission with comparatively easy access to hidden water ice.
Copyright: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU
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The hope of having sufficient water resources on Mars in the long term is now somewhat dampened by a study by international scientists, which is now in the journal “Science” (DOI: 10.1126 / science.aay9522) has been published.
It includes Franck Montmessin from the French National Research Center (Center National de la Recherche Scientifique“, CNRS) together with colleagues from the universities of Oxford, Paris, Canberra and the Russian Academy of Sciences to the realization that Mars loses its water much faster than previous observations and theoretical models had suspected.
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“The constant loss of water (H2O) happens in the upper Martian atmosphere at a height of about 80 kilometers, when UV radiation and other chemical processes separate the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms and the weak gravity of the planet can no longer prevent them from doing so, to escape into space. “
Using data from the European-Russian ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, the scientists discovered large atmospheric pockets of saturated water vapor at a height of around 80 kilometers, within which the atmosphere contains 10 to 100 times more water vapor than the temperatures should allow. Due to the observed saturation rate, the ability of this water to escape into space increases enormously, especially during the warmer seasons. “If water vapor can rise to such heights within the Martian atmosphere without condensing, it is obvious that the escape of water from Mars takes place to a significantly greater extent and extent than previously assumed,” concludes Montmessin. Until now, scientists had assumed that it would take decades for water to reach the Martian atmosphere, where it was broken down into its components and escaped. In fact, this process obviously takes a lot shorter – we’re talking weeks or even days here. ”
FURTHER MESSAGES ON THE SUBJECT
Mars probe InSight finds evidence of huge groundwater levels on Mars September 24, 2019
New water cycle discovered on Mars May 11, 2019
Does deep groundwater still flow on Mars today? March 29, 2019
Mars Express finds evidence of planetary groundwater system on Mars for the first time March 5, 2019
Hidden lake provides evidence of young volcanism on Mars February 15, 2019
Pool of liquid water discovered under the southern pole ice of Mars July 26, 2018
Source: CNRS
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