NASA's Treasure Map for Water Ice on Mars
nasa.gov
nasa.gov
2) Yes, we've known for a while now that Mars has water ice. This is new science because they've built up a comprehensive map with the goal of identifying good landing sites for future missions to Mars, in particular missions focused on in-situ resource utilization of Martian water ice. The data is derived from current Mars probes, the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey Orbiter.
[1] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-treasure-map-for-wate...
This is basically a project that was "Let's try this, how much weight does the mission have to spare? Ouch, that's not a lot, let's see what we can do", that's my takeaway from this episode anyway https://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/20...
https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/14/helicopter-to-accompan...
> She said the size of the rotors was restricted to 1.2 meters by the space available on the Mars 2020 rover’s belly pan. In turn, the 1.2-meter rotor diameter limits the mass of the helicopter to 4 pounds — 1.8 kilograms — based on the rarefied density of the Martian atmosphere.
> “The biggest thing is the atmospheric density at Mars is very thin,” Aung said in an interview Friday. “It’s 1 percent of that at Earth. It’s equivalent to about 100,000 feet in altitude here on Earth. The other difference is the gravity at Mars is lower. It’s about 40 percent. That plays into how much we can lift.”
> The rotors on the Mars Helicopter will spin between 2,400 and 2,900 rpm, about 10 times faster than a helicopter flying in Earth’s atmosphere.
Here it is running in test chamber at mars equivalent atmospheric density - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMCJGfwj3rY
The thin atmosphere cuts both ways. It generates less lift. But it inflicts less drag.
Would they work in Mars' atmosphere?
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Planetary scientists often classify volatiles with exceptionally low melting points, such as hydrogen and helium, as gases (as in gas giant), whereas those volatiles with melting points above about 100 K (–173 °C, –280 °F) are referred to as ices. The terms "gas" and "ice" in this context can apply to compounds that may be solids, liquids or gases. Thus, Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants, and Uranus and Neptune are ice giants, even though the vast majority of the "gas" and "ice" in their interiors is a hot, highly dense fluid that gets denser as the center of the planet is approached.
https://medium.com/spaceinmylifetime/how-spacex-will-refuel-...
Science-News-Timelines.Org - Startup idea, maybe?
> While several investigations have already predicted, identified, and characterized some properties of near‐surface ice on Mars, our results constitute a significant advance in the context of the upcoming crewed exploration because 1) they focus on very shallow depths accessible with limited equipment, 2) they provide continuous regional coverage including the mid‐latitudes, and 3) they yield moderate spatial resolution maps (3 ppd [= pixels per degree of lat/lon, I believe]) relevant to landing site selection studies.
The basic measurement used is surface thermal emission vs. time, which is inverted using a thermal model with a rock/ice depth boundary, thermal emission from the surface, albedo, solar insolation angle, conduction by a faint atmosphere, etc.
The paper also mentions that one of the co-authors passed away unexpectedly while the paper was being written. RIP.
People in clumsy, restrictive spacesuits, in low gravity, using shovels to crack through the frozen surface? Then using picks to break up the water ice? then carrying tons of said ice to the electrolysis => H2 => CH4 get-me-outta-here fuel machine?
That can't be right. I need to see the full plan here.
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2019GL08...
Available through various institutions for free. You'll find the authors to be established Mars scientists who've been weighing in on the water/ice (and other things) discussions over the years.
"Frozen water is a very strong heat conductor compared to typical Martian regolith. As a result, near-surface ice measurably influences seasonal surface temperature trends, and the depth of the H2O table controls the amplitude of this effect. We leverage this influence on orbital temperature observations using a numerical heat transfer model to derive regional and local maps of the ice depth on Mars, at much higher spatial resolution than previously available. We show that water ice is present sometimes just a few cm below the surface, at locations where future landing is realistic, under mobile material that could easily be moved around. This ice could be exploited on-site for drinking water, breathable oxygen, etc., at a much lower cost than if brought from Earth."
The old joke of "We find water on Mars every 18 months" is only true when observing though the lens of popular media and newspapers. The references section of any of these publications are clear evidence that no one has forgotten the earlier evidence.
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/ninthmars2019/pdf/6027.pdf
And it's warmer there, and has, y'know, air.