Detecting water in the Martian equator

After the discovery of water in the extreme Martian region, scientists recently claimed to have found a large amount of ice sediment beneath the shallow equator of Mars.

This result reinforces the belief in cosmologists in the journey to find water and life on Mars.

According to Sciencemag, the scientists analyzed data obtained from Odyssey satellites - " senior " satellites studying red planets, which are responsible for collecting matter on Mars's surface using rays. The universe bombards this planet.

Scientists have calculated the amount of hydrogen and thus can determine the amount of water that can exist in the layers of Mars.

Odyssey satellites have found ice patches on the surface of Mars in low latitudes - (Photo: NASA).

In small quantities, this amount of water can be in many forms: in hydrated mineral deposits or in ice particles in sand or mud.

'However, when this number is said to be up to 26% of the physical surface, it is certain that large pieces of ice must be located just below the surface of Mars ' , Jack Wilson, scientist at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA said.

The discovery of water on Mars was not new, because in 2002, thanks to the Odyssey, scientists gave evidence of the existence of water on Mars, but water was only discovered in high latitudes - near the polar region.

Currently, Wilson and his colleagues have drawn a new map from the study of data previously obtained from the Odyssey but at about 290km. Therefore, this map is twice as good as the previous maps.

This time, they searched for smaller but more concentrated ice patches and found many such waters in latitude much lower than originally expected, including the equator.

This research is published in the journal Icarus.

'This is a great demonstration of whether data has been used and can still be analyzed in conjunction with new technologies to produce new results,' said Jim Head, planetary geologist at the University. Brown said.

Also according to Jim Head, this result is very important because when we bring people to Mars, we will definitely find places with lots of water.

Dark streaks are potentially rich areas of water on Mars, including the equator - (Photo: JT Wilson).

However, according to current Martian climate models, equatorial ice can only last about 125,000 years. If the ice actually exists in the equator, this could be evidence of a Mars axis shift.

Unlike Earth, Mars does not have a large enough moon to help balance the orbit. And if the current orbital axis is greater than 25o, some ice caps must have shifted directly to gaseous bodies and moved into lower latitudes.

According to Science magazine, temporarily postpone how the ice sheets can reach the equator, if you find a way to bring these pieces of ice to the surface and melt, this is most likely the beginning of the live of the bacteria.

That's why Mars researchers were so excited to look at dark streaks on steep slopes on the map, because it might leak the first drops from here - or maybe from melting ice, or from groundwater - and starting to form a new era.