Massive Frozen Water Reservoirs Discovered on Mars

[tekisui]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – NASA scientists have discovered enormous underground reservoirs of frozen water on Mars, away from its polar caps, in the latest sign that life might be sustainable on the Red planet.

Ground-penetrating radar used by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals numerous huge glaciers up to one half-mile thick buried beneath layers of rock and debris. Researchers said one glacier is three time the size of Los Angeles in area.

"All together, these glaciers almost certainly represent the largest reservoir of water ice on Mars that's not in the polar caps," said John Holt, a geophysicist at the University of Texas at Austin and lead author of a report about the discovery, which appears in the November 21 issue of the journal Science.

"In addition to their scientific value, they could be a source of water to support future exploration of Mars," said Holt.

Scientists on the 12-member research team surmise that the frozen water deposits are remnants of a Martian ice age millions of years ago.


more at link: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Massive_underground_water_reservoirs_discovered_on_1120.html

[seemslikeadream]

1. Thanks!

[Spectral Music]

2. Very exciting!

At least until the hotel industry figures out how to put resorts up there. :(

[Submariner]

3. It might be a better place to live than earth in another century or so

[AlCzervik]

4. how spiffy is that? How long until they can a sample i wonder?

[GCP]

5. Just like in Total Recall

Hmmm

[frylock]

6. start the reactor, quaid

[TheKentuckian]

7. That's huge for possible colonization

If there's enough Mars can be made green in a short few hundred years.

[DireStrike]

8. Um, the atmosphere?!

And the temperature!

Well, we can always try!

[Gold Metal Flake]

9. And the intense radiation.

Edit: readiation?

[DireStrike]

10. Oh yes good point, very weak magnetic field.

Maybe the water will allow us to build a large indoor "green" environment though. That might work.


I wish there were "readiation" beams flying in from space to smack some of these morons in the head.

[DireStrike]

11. too late to edit

"morons" being GOOPers and the like, not Kentuckian and the like! Just realized it might have sounded like I implied that.

[Gold Metal Flake]

13. An idea, the underground thing.

We can build all sorts of artificial bullshit down there, then let the Earth go feral again.

[underseasurveyor]

12. I wonder.. how long

before we can buy bottled water from mars?

[riqster]

14. We can use the 'canals' again?

:P