Latest news with #JGRPlanets
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers found the perfect spot to set up a base on Mars
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. 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. Today's Top Deals Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 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. More Top Deals Amazon gift card deals, offers & coupons 2025: Get $2,000+ free See the
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The sun might be making water on the moon, NASA study finds
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Constant gusts of particles from the sun may be creating water molecules on the moon, a new NASA-led experiment hints. Scientists have detected traces of water molecules — as well as hydroxyl (OH) molecules, a component of water — on the surface of the moon through multiple space missions. The source of this water has long been a mystery, though some theories suggest volcanism, outgassing from deeper in the lunar regolith (the combination of rock and dust on the surface of the moon), and bombardment by tiny meteorites. The new NASA experiment, described March 17 in the journal JGR Planets, tests a different idea: that solar wind is behind it all. Solar wind is a constant gale of charged particles streaming from the sun at over 1 million mph (1.6 km/h). It bombards everything in the solar system, including Earth, and causes colorful auroras when it collides with molecules in our atmosphere. Our planet's magnetosphere shields us from the brunt of this space weather. The moon, however, has a very weak and splotchy magnetic field, so it is less protected. Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The rocks and dust making up the surface of the moon contain a lot of oxygen but not a lot of hydrogen. Solar wind is mostly made of protons, which are hydrogen atoms missing their electrons. Without a strong magnetic field to protect it, the solar wind slams into the moon's surface every day, seeding it with protons that steal or borrow electrons from the lunar regolith to form the hydrogen needed to make water. Related: Earth's moon could've had Saturn-like rings, new study hints According to NASA, the water that's been detected on the moon follows an interesting pattern — it changes on a daily cycle. Areas warmed by the sun release water as vapor, while colder regions hold onto it. If the source of water was something like micrometeorite collisions, we might expect the water to keep decreasing in warm areas until more impacts occur. However, the amounts of water detected return to the same levels every day, even as some of it is lost to space. This makes it more likely that solar wind is involved. To test this theory, the researchers simulated the effects of solar wind striking the moon using samples of lunar regolith collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972. They built a tiny particle accelerator in a vacuum to launch "mock solar wind" at the samples for multiple days, simulating the effects of the real solar wind hitting the moon for 80,000 years. Then, they measured how the chemical makeup of the sample had changed — and it showed evidence of water that wasn't there before. RELATED STORIES —NASA rover discovers out-of-place 'Skull' on Mars, and scientists are baffled —15 incredible images of Earth's moon —1st mission to 'touch' the sun discovers a mysterious source of solar wind "The exciting thing here is that with only lunar soil and a basic ingredient from the Sun, which is always spitting out hydrogen, there's a possibility of creating water," study lead author Li Hsia Yeo, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement. Understanding how water forms on the moon is important for future astronaut missions, the researchers said. Water ice stored at the lunar south pole could be an important resource for astronauts, for example. The results also provide insight into the solar wind's interactions beyond the moon. Other celestial bodies that don't have much of an atmosphere or a magnetic field are also bombarded by solar wind, so studying how these environments change can help us understand celestial chemical processes that generate or strip away water, a key building block for life.
