Ice ice baby
NASA hopes to add Mars to the list of worlds that humans have explored in person, but doing so will require meticulous planning. A vital resource to consider? Accessible ice. Astronauts would be able to use it for a variety of needs, such as drinking water, agriculture, and even rocket propellant.
Another hurdle to consider: Warmth. Like Earth, Mars’ equator is its warmest region, thus NASA might want to keep astronauts as close to this location as possible.
So — because the surface ice uncovered by this meteorite is the closest to the martian equator yet found, at 35°N — the discovery marks good news for future crewed missions to Mars.
“This was a big surprise because this is the closest to the equator that we’ve seen ice exposed in an impact,” said Daubar in the press conference announcing the discovery. “It wasn’t totally out of range of what might be expected, but it was still very surprising.”
As for how the researchers know the ice came from Mars and not the impactor, the answer is simple: “An impact of this size would actually destroy the meteoroid,” explained Daubar. Additionally, the spray of debris indicates that the ice is not from the impacting body, but rather excavated from Mars itself.
Final goodbye?