A new examination of old data suggests that there might be ice hiding in the Martian equator, even though scientists previously thought that the substance couldn't exist there.
Scientists uncovered an unexpected amount of hydrogen when looking at older data from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft dating back to between 2002 and 2009. At higher latitudes, hydrogen generally indicates buried water ice, but this was not believed possible at the equator, according to a statement from NASA .
If there is indeed water there, this would help with a future human mission to Mars, because it could mean the astronauts wouldn't need to bring the substance with them for drinking, cooling equipment or watering plants, researchers said in the statement. Instead, the astronauts could live off the land to an extent, reducing the number of resources that need to be trucked (at higher cost) from Earth. [ How The Search for Water on Mars in Pictures ]
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This would be a great find, if true.
Still, given our current technologies, I hope early journeys to Mars are not a bridge too far.
Yeah, I'm convinced that by the 30's we'll get there. Much sooner than that seems a bit hard-core for me. But obviously I'd love to see that happening, even though I can wait like 15 years to see it.
That first trip will be something.
It will surely be forever remembered, almost like the Moon visit. And one day trips like that will be normal as passenger jet going off from an airport.
I remember watching the video from the first Moon landing. It was a climax after all the work and test flights leading up to that point.
Many years later, in 1979 I visited Kennedy Space Center. There was an area dedicated to the moon landing and outside a Saturn V laying lengthwise on the ground. You could walk around it. It was very large and fantastic.
Me too, the whole family gathered around grandpa's tv watching in awe. 47 years on and that memory is still crystal clear.
Sorry, But so what, like mankind needs another planet to fuck up.
Plus : IF we were intended to be martians we already would be.
The best thing I see coming out of this is more knowledge. period
I still say humans need to learn to take care of the planet we now have that sustains all our lives with ease and has all along. To me people trying to live on another planet seems foolish. WHY ? How? And at what cost to this one ? Hell we cant even get along on or manage the planet we have.
That's pretty shortsighted. The dinosaurs probably would have welcomed another planet.
To think the human race could ever life permanently on a different planet when the human body is so frail even in this perfectly harmonized climate in my opinion is pretty much ridiculous and would be hilarious if not for the amount of resources wasted on the idea.
IF there actually was a planet we could walk around on and breath without aids I might feel a little different but till then in my opinion "colonizing" a different planet is not an viable long term option for any amount of population of humans.
I think we are lucky we were given one planet, let's respect it instead of being so ready to screw up another one.
I'm all in with respecting this planet, and share your worry about us messing more planets up.
But we definitely gain from space activities, it is one of the best things we spend and we should spend more into it. The money we spend on that brings us so much back.
Also you know that one day this planet will be torched by our own sun, so not ever going out from this planet would doom us one day. But yeah, it's going to take a while.
But space projects will always get my vote, we just need to take care of earth as well.
The best thing I see coming out of this is more knowledge
Yes knowledge is good, that is also kinda why it is done and definitely why I support these things.
To date, knowledge is the best thing to gain. At some point in the future the application of that knowledge will be the only thing standing between "us" and a red giant turning us into a cinder, or "us" and a die off like the dinosaurs experienced, etc.
The fate of the dinosaurs could be much closer than we think, unlike the red giant it could happen very soon.
We need to continue improving our early warning systems and continue our research kuiper belt objects and beyond. We need to learn how to steer those things elsewhere.
We need to steer them into Mars against its rotation to lengthen the Martian day allowing the sun's energy to melt the ice and releasing it into the atmosphere to help warm up Mars and increase the atmospheric pressure.
Unlike what others have said about f-ing up another planet, that is exactly what we need to do to make Mars more habitable. The dinosaurs were so messing up the planet that they forced a reptile to start living most of its time underground and to adapt it became warm blooded and grew hair and to keep its young from the dangers of the surface modified sweat glands to produce milk, but in order to continue evolving the dinosaurs had to die off.