Lots of Ice On Mars

Total Recall writes: "The Mars Odyssey spacecraft is finding large amounts of hydrogen in the southern hemisphere of Mars. This strongly indicates the presence of water ice (since H2O is both common and very stable). The data samples about the upper meter or so of the Martian surface. This apparently extends from the south polar cap up to about 60 south latitude. It suggests a permafrost of mixed ice and dirt."

Comments

Re:Mars as a refueling station ?

[Soft]

If there's H3 on Mars, however, the spacecraft only has to carry enough fuel to go TO Mars, and then get refuel there to come home.

It is unlikely that you can find tritium (H3) anywhere, it decays in a few years or decades. Perhaps you mean helium-3, and suppose that we have a He3-powered fusion-drive spaceship?

Anyway, we already have chemical rockets, for which water can be quite interesting (hydrogen-oxygen).

One more thought - if there's plenty of ice leftover, then Mars could be used as a "refueling station" for space flight further away than Mars.

Perhaps. But Mars isn't that small a planet, so mining near-Earth asteroids would probably be cheaper.

Re:Well this changes everything ....

[The Evil Beaver]

Yes, and with the Fe all over, set up roving factories to scoop up, filter, and create iron ingots. This should cause some greenhouse emissions, I believe, and a number of other gasses, I believe including steam, would help in the creation of an atmosphere.

What would really be interesting, though, would be how the Martian cities are in Cowboy Bebop. Though, I don't think that such a plan is really workable. It would be simpler and less expensive (in terms of more than just money) to terraform the entire planet.

Before Mars is terraformed, however, someone should be sent out to check the Pyramid, ruins, and other features of that area.

Re:Now we know where to land

[Skyshadow]

The major advantage for Mars (aside from its carbon-dioxide atmosphere, and the recently confirmed water) is the gravity.

Whoa, slow down there, cowboy. The availablity of oxygen and hydrogen isn't just something to casually dismiss.

You put some sort of hard-to-break, long-lasting power source on the surface (nuclear battery or somesuch) and you can survive a lot of adversity when you have these sorts of raw materials. You can grow food in inflatible domes (most terrestrial crops would actually like the CO2 atmosphere of Mars better than our own), you can make air to breathe and you have water to drink. You can survive a really long time, even if Earth can't get you a supply ship for a few months (or years). Additionally, you can make rocket propellant, mix concrete and refine metals for your base, all using stuff you have laying around. Bury it all under a few meters of earth (er, mars) and you're safe from radiation thanks to the fact that Mars has an atmosphere running interference for you.

On the moon, if you rupture an air tank, you have to get into your lander and blast back to Earth pronto. The surface of Mars, on the other hand, could pretty easily be converted into the second safest place in the solar system.