Billions of years ago, geological evidence suggests that the cold, dry Red Planet used to be much greener. Enough water was collected in pools, lakes, and deep oceans to cover the entire planet in an ocean about 100 to 1,500 meters (330 to 4,920 feet) deep. That’s roughly the equivalent of half of the Atlantic Ocean.
The question is: what exactly happened to that water?
While some frozen water is found in Martian polar ice caps, scientists had previously said that the water that flowed on Mars escaped into space due to the planet’s low pressure. And although a little rain actually left Mars in this way, a new NASA-backed study finds that there is still a lot of water on the planet, trapped in the crust.
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“Atmospheric escape will not fully explain the data we have for the amount of water that once existed on Mars,” said Eva Scheller, lead author of the paper published in the journal Science.
How researchers estimated water Mars
Scheller and his colleagues used data from Mars rovers and orbiters as well as surveyed meteorites to study the water level of the Red Planet in the beginning and what he lost over time.
One way to do that is by analyzing the hydrogen levels within the planet’s atmosphere and rocks. Water is made up of both hydrogen and oxygen, but not all atoms of hydrogens are created equal. Most have only one proton inside the nucleus of the atom, but the so-called “heavy” hydrogen has an extra neutron.
NASA / JPL
Regular hydrogen has little trouble escaping from planet earth than heavier deuterium. The ratio of deuterium to hydrogen (D / H) in the planet’s atmosphere, therefore, reflects Martian water loss.
“Air escape has clearly played a role in water loss, but conclusions from the last decade of the Mars missions have shown that this vast reservoir of old hydrated minerals that had certainly been created ‘reduce the availability of water over time, “explained Bethany Ehlmann, professor of planetary science and associate director for the Keck Institute for Space Studies.
When water and rock come together, a process called chemical weathering can take place to form clay and other hydrous minerals that contain water. as part of their mineral structure.
And while between 30 percent and 99 percent of the water is still trapped at Mars’ crust, Scheller warns it won’t be easy for future astronauts to extract water for use.