Scientists have recently confirmed the presence of running water on Mars; the question of how and if it is accessible, though, is another problem entirely.
Stunning news emerged last month that water has been found on the Red Planet. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, revealed the discovery via their website.
“New findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars,” a NASA statement read.
“Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time,” NASA said.
The news has been met excitedly by NHS senior Chris Rovelli, who believes the discovery could result in a more promising future for humankind.
“The fact that there is life on another planet is really promising. I’d say it’s very important.” Rovelli said.
He believes that the benefits may surpass the significant financial outlay that would be required if humans are to reach Mars.
“We’re running out of space on this planet,” he said. “We’re not going to have enough supplies on earth to keep the human population around for much longer.”
“If we could move to another planet, even though it would cost so much money, we might have a chance to keep us going,” Rovelli said.
NHS junior Matt Frazzetta was intrigued by NASA’s findings.
“My initial reaction is that it’s pretty cool, but what does it mean?” he said. “It means there’s a higher chance of life on Mars, and it probably means there was life or is micro life there; I’d say it’s intriguing.”
While he felt the news was interesting, Frazzetta questioned its immediate relevance. “It’s only important because it could lead to something better than this,” he said.
NHS astronomy teacher Mike Dyer pointed out that the news was only somewhat interesting; he knew that at one point water flowed constantly on Mars.
“Essentially, we’ve known for years that there were dried out riverbeds on Mars’ surface,” Dyer said.
“But in recent years we’ve figured out that the polar ice caps, which aren’t only made up of liquid water; they’re made up of other liquids,” he said.
“Every year, just like on the Earth’s surface, we go through seasonal changes. So every year, they have the melting, and then the re-freezing of polar ice caps.”
“It’s fairly important, because it will show us some resources that we might be able to capture once we go and try to colonize Mars,” he said.
Unfortunately, images of water on Mars may be as close as humans ever get to seeing it in person.
The obstacle NASA is now presented with is considerable; they are forbidden by international law to touch any of the running water on Mars.
In 1967, the United Nations (UN) wrote the Outer Space Treaty. The treaty states that contamination of other planets by Earth life must be prohibited.
"Because liquid water appears to be present, these regions are considered special regions where we have to take extra precautions to prevent contamination by earth life," said MRO team member Rich Zurek in an interview.
These special regions are said by the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group to be areas where microorganisms from other planets may be able to survive.
Zurek went on to explain that the NASA Curiosity rover on Mars is not sterile enough to access Martian water.
"Our current rovers have not been sterilized to the degree needed to go to an area where liquid water may be present,” he said.
Another reason reaching the water may be difficult is the terrain; on the steep slopes where the streaks were found, the surface is too rocky and uneven for Curiosity to explore.
Nonetheless, NASA remains confident it will one day have manned missions to collect the water they want.
In the meantime, Curiosity will continue its exploration of Mars, and humankind will continue holding its breath in anticipation of the next great space discovery.