New Images Reveal Pure Water Ice On Mars 179
Matt_dk writes "Images of recent impact craters taken by the HiRISE Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed sub-surface water ice halfway between the north pole and the equator on Mars. While the Phoenix lander imaged subsurface ice where the top layer of soil had been disturbed at the landing site near the north pole, these new images — taken in quick succession, detecting how the ice sublimated away — are the first to show evidence of water ice at much lower latitudes. Surprisingly, the white ice may be made from 99 percent pure water."
Re:Lets colonize! (Score:3, Informative)
A very poorly placed one, as the vaste majority of the fuel you make is going to be used to get it out of the gravity well (less so for the moon, but still significant). I've said it a dozen times on Slashdot already. A gas station would make more sense on an NEO where the resources are abundant and the gravity almost non-existant.
Get your ass to an NEO! (just doesn't have the same right to it)
Re:Lets colonize! (Score:3, Informative)
Use the water as an energy source how? Heat difference between something heated by the sun and the ice? I'm not sure I follow.
If your rocket burns oxygen and hydrogen you could fly it to Mars, then use solar energy to turn water into hydrogen+oxygen, and fly home.
Re:Martians (Score:5, Informative)
> How long before martians now?
Soon, soon.
He brought the boys to the edge of the canal and told them to look down into the water. "There are the Martians I promised to show you"
Re:Lets colonize! (Score:3, Informative)
If you want to get technical about it, we've already harnessed fusion energy... in bombs... a good fifty years ago. We just haven't been able to scale down the process below a few megatons yield yet.
Re:Whoa (Score:5, Informative)
Rocket motors don't require an atmosphere at all. Is just mass moving and action/reaction [howstuffworks.com]. Any sort of device that can chuck mass out the back [akamaitech.net] of a vehicle will push that vehicle forward.
Re:Another blow to the no life on Mars crowd (Score:3, Informative)
I tried Nucleic Acid once.
What a ride, what a ride!
Re:Lets colonize! (Score:1, Informative)
Actually, net gain fusion seems to be down to around 6 or so, and commericial plants 12. The polywell fusion research is really cruising along.
Re:Lets colonize! (Score:3, Informative)
Nuclear Physics is only ~100 years old, nuclear chain reactions weren't observed until the 30s, and the first fission reactor wasn't invented until the 40s. Fusion was also first observed in the 30s and as we all know they figured out how to make a pretty good bomb out of it by the 40s. Anyway my point is, all of this stuff is relatively recent, the physics is still moving fairly rapidly, but they have figured out how to get a net energy gain out of a manageable fusion reaction so to say it's 'always' going to be 30 years away is simply unfounded cynicism.
Re:Martians (Score:3, Informative)
Is that "The Martian Chronicles" by Bradbury? (A book, btw)
Indeed it is, but I plead guilty to only seeing the film(s). I'm sure the book is even better.