Mars could host water but not significant quantities
Mars, also known as the Red Planet, is a barren and dry place with no apparent signs of life. However, some signs of liquid water on the planet have been discovered, the latest being a mysterious and dark strip NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter saw not long ago.
Finding liquid on the Red Planet could be extraordinarily significant because this could mean that researchers could discover possible life forms and supplies that could be utilized to improve lives for humanity.
Further analyzing of the dark streaks showed that it isn’t sufficient water as previously hoped. Moreover, researchers are sure that whatever water exists there, it is not drinkable.
To make things worse, the scientists noted that the amount of water that could be found on Mars could not surpass the quantity of water seen on Earth’s driest desert. This is a great disappointment for people hoping to find huge amounts of liquid water on the surface of the Red Planet.
By remotely using the Mars Odyssey’s Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) the scientists concluded that there isn’t significant water on Mars.
Whenever water is accessible between the grain of sand and ground, the temperature of the soil does not warm up as quickly in comparison to when there is no disposable water. The farther the seeps, the more isolated the land becomes.
NASA experts decided that the ground could only contain 3 percent of water, after examining the information from THEMIS. That is a comparable dryness level to the one seen in the Atacama Desert.
Researchers mentioned that their conclusions are compatible with the appearance of hydrated salts since you can have hydrated salt without possessing enough for the water to begin loading pore spaces between particles. Salts are known to convert into hydrated by extracting water vapor in the atmosphere. It does not need an underground spring of water.
Unfortunately, if the conclusions of the research prove to be entirely accurate, we must cease from believing that we will ever encounter considerable amounts of water on Mars. Although tiny amounts of water can host life, we must reconsider the idea of ever finding life on Mars, because the prospects of seeing life are based on discovering large amounts of water.
Image source: Wikipedia
Deborah Campbell
