New research has revealed that glaciers on Mars are composed of more than 80% pure water ice, with some estimates suggesting they are nearly pure ice. This high purity level is consistent across different glaciers and hemispheres. The discovery was made using the SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) instrument on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
According to a recent study published in Science Direct, scientists found that the ice is preserved beneath a thin layer of debris, which insulates it from the planet’s harsh conditions. This uniformity suggests that Mars experienced either a single, planet-wide glaciation event or multiple glaciations with similar properties.
The purity level of the glaciers is crucial for future human missions to Mars, as accessing clean water ice could provide a reliable source of water, oxygen, and rocket fuel. Extracting water from pure ice would be more energy-efficient than extracting it from dirty ice.
Study co-authors Oded Aharonson and Isaac Smith found that all the sites they studied can be described as relatively pure ice deposits, with 80% or more ice under a rock or dust cover. They propose two possible formation mechanisms for the glaciers: atmospheric precipitation or direct condensation of frost on the ground. The discovery sheds new light on Mars’ geological history and has significant implications for future space exploration.
Source: https://www.ndtv.com/science/glaciers-on-mars-are-mostly-water-ice-study-finds-8993198