Observing Mars Underground

The Mars Orbiter which recently established its presence around the red planet seems to be equipped with ground piercing radar that can detect ice (and hopefully water) on Mars a kilometer below the surface.

(Mars Today) The orbiter's Shallow Subsurface Radar, provided by the Italian Space Agency, will search to depths of about one kilometer (six-tenths of a mile) to find and map layers of ice, rock and, if present, liquid water. [...]

"We will use the Shallow Radar to map buried channels, to study the internal structure of ice caps and to see boundaries between layers of different materials," said Dr. Roberto Seu of the University of Rome La Sapienza, leader of the instrument's science team. "The data will provide our first detailed look just under the Martian surface, where ices might reside that would be accessible for future explorers."

Mapping where potential water ice is on Mars will be crucial if we are intent on surviving on that hostile world. If Mars holds an abundance of water beneath its surface, then we can build the necessary robots to bring it to the surface.

Although Mars may lack the necessary resources to make it attractive to businesses and governments, its greatest resource may be water which is worth more than gold in this solar system.

Update: Added image.



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