The Quest for Water     Polar Ice Caps    General Info

Ground Water

    The possibility of organisms living on mars is supported by the existence of ground water. There are types of bacteria that thrive here on earth, living underneath the earths surface, drawing water from the ground around them. If we were able to warm the surface of mars by just even a slight amount, the frozen water beneath the surface would turn liquid, providing adequate amounts to support the first bacteria.

            Already the European Space Agency is proposing to the idea of sending MARSIS, or Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding, to use ground penetrating radar which will search for, and map, any underground water reservoirs. On board ESA's Mars Express, MARSIS will emit low frequency radar waves from a 40 meter long antenna while Mar's Express orbits the planet. Analysis of the data will provide information about the planets top five kilometers of the Martian crust, including the possibility of stored water.

       The Mars Express will also include several other instrument designed to specifically further our understanding of water on Mars. Four instruments will be specifically designed to study the Martian atmosphere in hopes of providing a better understanding of how water vapor, and other atmospheric gases escape from Mars into space. These instruments include ASPERA, SPICAM, PFS and MaRS. Another two instruments, HRSC and OMEGA are designed to study the  planets surface to learn where water may have once existed, or still exists underground. For further information about the Mars Express mission or the European Space Agency, check out the connecting links.

European Space Agency            Mars Express mission

    The Map below shows the northern hemisphere of mars with areas color-coded the show the possible presence of frozen ground water. Gamma rays from the element hydrogen, mainly in the form of water ice, were used to create this image.  Violet and blue represent areas where there is a high concentration, and red represent the area with the least amount of content. The great concentration at the very north, or center of the map, can be explained by the polar ice cap, and the remaining plume represents frozen water with in the surrounding ground. (This image was provided by the Mars Odyssey Orbiter in 2002)    

For more information on the Odyssey mission, check out this video     Odyssey Mission

    Remains of channels, believed to be carved by water, appear to lead to the northern half of the planet, supporting the idea that a great ocean once covered a large portion of the northern hemisphere. If this were the case, this might account for the finding of this large plume of frozen ground water surrounding the northern pole. Even in the southern portion of the planet, the ancient presence of water still lingers. Interconnecting valleys in the southern highlands support the idea that water was once common in these areas. And often, at high latitudes, craters bear the mark of what is known as fluidised ejecta, more easily described as resembling the debris ring around a stone dropped in soft mud. All these features support the idea that water was once present on the surface of Mars in liquid form, so perhaps, one day it will be present again

    If we hope to achieve a therefore Mars, we will need to somehow provide the planet with an adequate source of water. The idea that water may in fact be present already beneath the surface, within the frozen ground, brings hope that with some effort the planet can be warmed and liquid water will flow once more. Only when this is achieved can we hope to sustain life, in any form, on the surface of this neighboring planet.