As space agencies like NASA are busy gearing up with their Mars colonization mission, a new study report has suggested that water ice could be present just one inch beneath the dusty surface of the Red Planet. Scientists made this conclusion after analyzing data sent by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars Odyssey Orbiter.
A shovel to dig ice from Mars
Earlier, researchers believed that extracting water or water ice from Mars could be most probably a herculean task. However, the new study report published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters suggests that ice can be dug up from the surface of the Red Planet using a shovel.
"You wouldn't need a backhoe to dig up this ice. You could use a shovel. We're continuing to collect data on buried ice on Mars, zeroing in on the best places for astronauts to land," said Sylvain Piqueux, a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the lead author of the study in a recent statement.
Several previous study reports had suggested that Mars was once warm and had earth-like conditions in the past. As per these study reports, Mars might have once supported life, but something strange happened on the Red Planet around 3.5 million years ago, which resulted in the depletion of its atmosphere.
The new map made by experts reveals water ice less than a foot beneath the surface in an area near the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet, called Arcadia Planitia. Researchers, in their study report, noted that more studies should be done to learn more about the subsurface ice on Mars.
Alien disclosure near?
Several space experts believe that the presence of water on the Red Planet is an indication that alien life, at least in its microbial form might be thriving on Mars. Adding up the heat to these claims, Dr Jim Green, a chief NASA scientist had recently claimed that alien life will be discovered on the Red Planet within 2021.
Green also added that humanity is not prepared enough to accept the realities surrounding the existence of alien life. However, SpaceX founder Elon Musk believes that humans are the only creatures with consciousness in this universe.
