Astronomers found the perfect spot to set up a base on Mars
NASA and others have been wanting to get humans to Mars for decades at this point. However, actually getting us there is still far from feasible, despite all of Elon Musk's talk about putting boots on the ground within the next 20 years. There's still much we don't know about long-term space travel, but this ambitious plan to put humans on Mars also relies on having all the resources necessary at any base location to keep the astronauts alive while they're there.
According to new research, one of the most important resources we need, water, could be easier to get than we previously thought. In fact, a study published in JGR Planets suggests that astronomers could have found the perfect spot for a Mars base, and it's close to a mass of frozen water that astronauts could easily reach.
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Obviously, finding a way to provide the most vital resources directly from Mars at any base location is key to providing a proper plan for long-term settlement of the Red Planet. Even without all the answers about how living on the Martian surface will affect humans, being able to confidently say that we have the resources for astronauts to rely on means fewer resources that have to be sent along with them later down the line.
This not only makes the mission more affordable, but it also helps make room for other important materials or resources that might be needed. The new study looked specifically at Amazonis Planitia, a massive volcanic plain that straddles the equator and poles of the Red Planet. While inspect the plains, the astronomers noticed the telltale sight of bright-rimmed craters that are typically signs of ground ice here on Earth.
This evidence, they believe, shows that there could be pockets of water ice just below the surface. In fact, it could be close enough for astronauts to reach it with a little drilling. The need for a proper water source on Mars comes from more than just a need for drinking. Water is also used for a slew of other purposes, including as a propellant.
Without a proper water source near the base, any Mars base location will struggle to last. But if the observations at Amazonis Planitia are true, then we may already know exactly where to send astronauts, so they don't have to worry about running out of water anytime soon.
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Rubin Observatory, located in the Andes in Chile, released its first stunning images of the cosmos in June, researchers revealed the discovery of more than 2,100 previously unknown asteroids after seven nights of those newly detected space rocks, seven were near-Earth objects. A near-Earth object is an asteroid or comet on an orbit that brings it within 120 million miles (about 190 million kilometers) of the sun, which means it has the potential to pass near Earth, according to NASA. None of the new ones detected by Rubin were determined to pose a threat to our planet. Rubin will act as a great asteroid hunter, de Wit said, while telescopes such as Webb could be a tracker that follow up on Rubin's discoveries. A proposal by Rivkin and de Wit to use Webb to observe YR4 in the spring of 2026 has just been approved. Webb is the only telescope with a chance of glimpsing the asteroid before 2028. 'This newly approved program will buy decision makers two extra years to prepare — though most likely to relax, as there is an 80% chance of ruling out impact — while providing key experience-based lessons for handling future potential impactors to be discovered by Vera Rubin,' de Wit said. And because of the twists and turns of YR4's tale thus far, asteroids that have potential to affect the moon could become objects of even more intense study in the future. 'If this really is a thing that we only have to worry about every 5,000 years or something, then maybe that's less pressing,' Rivkin said. 'But even just asking what would we do if we did see something that was going to hit the moon is at least something that we can now start thinking about.' Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.
