Tag: Subsurface Ice
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Water On Mars? Maybe Not: Parsing the MARSIS Hype and the Real Science Behind Subsurface Ice
Introduction: The Excitement and the Caution When scientists announced potential liquid water under the southern polar ice cap of Mars, the news instantly sparked excitement about future human exploration and the possibility of habitable niches. The claim hinged on observations from MARSIS, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding, a radar instrument aboard…
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Could Martian Ice Preserve Clues of Ancient Life in a Frozen Time Capsule
A Potential Time Capsule Beneath Mars’ Ice Planetary scientists may have found a natural time capsule on Mars. A new study from NASA and Penn State University argues that fragments of biomolecules from ancient microbes could survive long enough in Martian ice to be detectable by future missions. If correct, this means life’s signature —…