by Remains of a modern glacier have been found near Mars’ equator, suggesting that ice may still exist in the area at shallow depths. If confirmed, such a discovery could have significant implications for future human exploration of the Red Planet.
Using data from NASA’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), researchers from the SETI Institute and the Mars Institute discovered light-tinted deposits (LTDs) on the surface of Mars. These features consist of bright sulphate salts, fissure fields and moraine bands that are signs of a “relic glacier”.
This relict glacier is located near the equator of Mars at 7° 33′ S, 93° 14′ W and is estimated to be 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) long and up to 2.5 miles (4 km) wide ) estimated, with surface elevation ranging up to 1.1 miles (1.7 km), depending on a statement (opens in new tab) from the SETI Institute.
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“What we found is not ice but a salt deposit with the detailed morphological features of a glacier,” Pascal Lee, lead author of the study and planetary scientist at the SETI and Mars Institutes, said in the statement. “What we think happened here is that salt formed on a glacier while preserving the shape of the ice underneath, down to details like crevasses and moraine bands.”
The presence of such a glacier suggests that there may have been surface water ice Mars newer than previously thought, which has implications both for our understanding of the habitability of the Red Planet and for future exploration missions.
“This region of Mars has a history of volcanic activity. And where some of the volcanic materials came into contact with glacial ice, chemical reactions would have taken place at the interface between the two to form a hardened layer of sulfate salts,” said Sourabh Shubham, co-author of the study and a PhD student at the Department of Geology from the University of Maryland said in the statement, “This is the most likely explanation for the hydrated and hydroxylated sulfates we observe in this bright deposit.”
The observed LTDs consist of sulfate salts that form when freshly erupted pyroclastic materials – volcanic ash, pumice and hot lava – come into contact with water ice. As these deposits build up, they form a hardened, crusty layer of salt. Over time, erosion would have exposed the salt deposits, along with crevasses and moraine bands unique to glaciers.
“Glaciers often exhibit distinctive types of features, including marginal, splaying and tic-tac-toe fissure fields, as well as thrust moraine bands and foliation,” said John Schutt, co-author of the study and a geologist at the Mars Institute, in the statement. “We see analogous features in shape, location and extent in this light-toned deposit. It’s very fascinating.”
Previous research has shown glacier activity near the equator of Mars in the more distant past, while recent glacial activity has so far only been observed at higher latitudes. Recent HiRISE observations indicate that these LTDs are geologically young at low latitudes, the statement said.
“A relatively young relic glacier at this location tells us that Mars has had surface ice very recently, even near the equator, which is new,” Lee said in the statement.
Although the water ice on the surface of Mars near the equator is not stable at these altitudes, it is possible that some of the glacial water ice is preserved under the sulfate salts. More research is needed to confirm this, but if water ice is indeed present in this equatorial region, there’s a chance it could be extracted as a resource for future missions.
“The desire to land people in a place where they could extract water ice from the ground has urged mission planners to consider locations at higher latitudes. But the latter environments tend to be colder and more challenging for humans and robots. If there were equatorial locations where ice could be found at shallow depths, then we would have the best of both environments: warmer conditions for human exploration and still have access to ice,” Lee said in the statement. “We now have to determine whether and how much water ice might actually be present in this relict glacier and whether other light-colored deposits may also have or had ice-rich substrates.
The insights were demonstrated (opens in new tab) at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held March 15 in The Woodlands, Texas.
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