Mars orbiter discovers large water reserve hidden in canyon
by Ryan King, Breaking News Reporter
December 20, 2021 07:00 AMA significant amount of water exists under a canyon system on Mars, scientists recently discovered.
The discovery came from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, which was sent to Mars in 2016 to map the hydrogen near the planet's surface. Experts are not sure whether the water detected is ice or water-rich minerals.
“This finding is an amazing first step, but we need more observations to know for sure what form of water we’re dealing with,” Hakan Svedhem, co-author of the study, said. “[The finding] reveals a large, not-too-deep, easily exploitable reservoir of water in this region of Mars.”
The team does not know for sure how deep the water goes, but they know the water source starts within a meter below the surface, Svedhem told the Washington Examiner. He said this discovery is significant because the water appears much closer to the planet's surface than prior discoveries in which scientists estimated water was a few kilometers below the planet's surface. That means the water could be more easily accessible to explorers.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mars-orbiter-discovers-large-water-reserve-hidden-in-canyon
