The Laughing Wolf

Water On Mars

Sort of. The announcement made yesterday does tend to show that Mars once had water. For those interested in planetary science, and in the possibility that there was once life on Mars (or still is in some primitive form), this is spectacular news.

What it does not do is show how much water may still be on Mars. That is a critical issue for any proposed mission to Mars. It greatly simplifies things if there is water that can be tapped for fuel and other needs. This does not have to be liquid water, it can be trapped in rock or chemical compounds from which it can be extracted. The Moon, according to briefings I got years ago, has a great deal of water bound up in various compounds. Water which can be fairly easily extracted.

If further explorations show a similar capacity in/on Mars, then private as well as governmental missions become much easier. The plans of The Mars Society become much more feasible, and could well beat NASA to the punch. Competition is a good thing, as is the news so far. Now let us hope that there is further good news, so that things may proceed apace.

LW