A remnant glacier has been discovered on Mars near the equator. This was reported by the SETI Institute’s planetary scientists at the 54th scientific meeting. conferences For the study of moons and planets in Woodlands, Texas.
The debate about the existence of liquid water on Mars is considered one of the most important in modern planetary science. Basically, negative temperatures prevail on Mars, and even carbon dioxide freezes at the poles. However, in the equatorial region, where the temperature can periodically reach positive values, water cannot accumulate in the form of puddles because it immediately boils (sublimates) and evaporates due to low pressure. However, some scientists hope that a strange combination of conditions could lead to the formation of at least temporary reservoirs near the equator or perennial glaciers.
Now Pascal Lee and his colleagues have reported that they have discovered a relic glacier near Mars’ equator. Located in the eastern part of the Labyrinth of Night, its coordinates are 7°33’S, 93°14’W. The formation, which reaches 6 km in length and 4 km in width, rises 1.3-1.7 km. Usually such light deposits consist of sulfate salts, but this geographic feature has many of the features of a glacier, including fissure areas and moraine bands.
“What we found is not ice, but salt deposits with the morphological features of a glacier. We think that salt forms on top of the ice while keeping its shape underneath,” Lee explains. This region of Mars has shown volcanic activity in the past, and where some of the volcanic material comes into contact with the ice, chemical reactions occur at the boundary between them. formed and a layer of hardened sulfate salts formed. Over time, when erosion removed the overlying volcanic material, a hard layer of sulfate was exposed that followed the shape of a glacier. In the future, scientists plan to find out whether the water ice is preserved under light deposits or has disappeared completely.
If the ice’s discovery is confirmed, it could be used as a water source for future space trips. It will also allow the base to be set up in a relatively warm place where people and equipment will not freeze and the rocket will need less fuel for takeoff and landing.
About what humanity is planning based on the Moon build you can read about it in the material “socialbites.ca” in the near future.