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Researchers Plot How to Reach Martian Water
By Glen Golightly
Houston Bureau Chief
posted: 07:00 am ET
23 June 2000
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wildcatting_000622 HOUSTON -- Deep in the heart of oil country here, computer models and remote sensing have just about replaced the old-time wildcatters who could "sniff" oil in the ground. But it might take a Space Age wildcatter to tap into any water on the Martian surface, speculated Johnson Space Center (JSC) scientists Thursday afternoon.[quote] Robotic rovers, depending on their size and abilities, may be able to sample the debris at the bottom of slopes, said astronaut and planetary scientist Tom Jones. "What you really want to get to is the source, and if theyre all up on canyon walls where an aquifer is exposed, it just strikes me thats going to be a very tough thing for robots to do," Jones said. "That undone work would be one of the first priorities that people would do when they got there." | Mars Water | | Read SPACE.com'sSpecial Report "Water On Mars," with continuing coverage. | Jones said it wouldnt be out of the question for an astronaut to use rock-climbing techniques to go into the canyons and arroyos for the water. "Its going to be a challenge. I think youd have to do what is regarded as sport climbing here on Earth to get those sites on Mars," he said. "Certainly the excitement and motivation would be there to go to those places." David McKay, chief scientist for JSCs Astrobiology Institute, said an alternative would be to drill for the water, much like it is done on Earth. Martian meteorite McKay also led the team that found possible evidence of ancient microfossils in the Allan Hills meteorite, discovered in Antarctica in 1984. The meteorite was determined to have come from Mars more than 13,000 years ago."A 300-meter (985-foot) drill-down is not out of the question," McKay said. "If you could drill down that deep its possible you might even have an artesian well where the water would rise up by itself. That would be ideal for a Mars base." McKay said the space agency is looking to develop drilling techniques and equipment that could be transported to Mars for use by astronauts or robotic probes. But robotic landers planned for upcoming Mars missions do not have the capability to land accurately enough to land near a water source, said JSCs chief scientist, Carl Agee. "The long-term goal is to send humans because theyll be the best explorers," he said. "In the short term, NASA needs to work on precision landing to get to these really interesting places."
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