2024-01-21 03:10:01
[NTD News, Beijing time, January 21, 2024]According to newly returned data from the European Space Agency’s “Mars Express” orbiter, scientists believe that there are huge layers of ice beneath the equator of Mars. The latest study published in Geophysical Research Letters on Thursday (January 18) believes that if the equatorial ice melts, the entire red planet will be covered by a two-meter shallow sea.
The “Mars Express” orbiter left Earth in June 2003 and arrived at Mars in December 2003. It has been exploring Mars for 20 years. This isn’t the first time ice has been found on Mars, but it’s the largest amount of ice ever discovered there.
ESA scientist Colin Wilson: “It does have many of the properties we expected for layered water ice.”
New data shows that the ice is covered with a layer of dust hundreds of meters thick. The thickness of the accumulated ice extends about 3.7 kilometers underground. If it melts, water may cover the entire Mars, forming a layer of water about two meters deep, enough water to fill the Earth’s Red Sea.
Back in 2004, scientists from the Mars Express mission confirmed the presence of ice on the Red Planet. In 2015, NASA stated that Mars appeared to have flowing salt water.
ESA scientist Colin Wilson said that interestingly, the location of the ice is not at the poles of Mars, but at the equator.
Colin Wilson: “This proves how much water there was on Mars in the past. It can accumulate into water ice several kilometers thick. This is a huge amount of water. We have seen evidence of large amounts of water on the surface of Mars elsewhere. There is this kind of water ice on Mars. The carved valleys have channels for floodwaters to flow out, but where the water went has always been a mystery.”
Wilson said the new discovery of equatorial ice makes future human missions to Mars even more exciting. Due to limitations of human technology, the manned spacecraft can only choose to land at low latitudes on Mars. But if the ice is at a depth of about 300 meters, drilling will be required to reach it.
Comprehensive reporting by NTDTV reporters Li Qingyi and Jiang Diya
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