New map of ice on Mars could help NASA decide where to send future astronauts

[Admin]

The NASA-funded SWIM project aims to detect where there's most likely water ice beneath Martian ground. Here's why.

New map of ice on Mars could help NASA decide where to send future astronauts : Read more

 

[ChrisA]

There is no way a first mission is going to depend on extracting and using water from Mars. Maybe they will do an experiment to see if it is possible to extract water. But they would never let the mission depend on extracting water. They will bring EVERYTHING they need for a round trip with them.

Even the JPL website, used as a source for this article had the same error that was copied here.

 

[sciencecompliance]

There is no way a first mission is going to depend on extracting and using water from Mars. Maybe they will do an experiment to see if it is possible to extract water. But they would never let the mission depend on extracting water. They will bring EVERYTHING they need for a round trip with them.

Even the JPL website, used as a source for this article had the same error that was copied here.

Due to how the orbits of Earth and Mars work out, astronauts will be on Mars for a long time before a return window opens. I think it's around two years if I remember correctly. In any case, it's quite a while. Unless the water is recycled almost entirely, that means you're going to have to bring a lot of water. Getting a lot of mass to the Martian surface is difficult and expensive. It would be much better to extract water in situ to minimize the mass that needs to be sent all the way to the Martian surface.