Photo: esa.int
The water-rich region of Valles Marineris
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The ice is in a stable state, which indicates the unique climatic and geological conditions in the Mariner valleys.
The ExoMars-TGO probe has found large ice deposits in the center of the Martian Valleys. The discovery belongs to planetary scientists from Russia and the Netherlands under the leadership of Igor Mitrofanov, head of the nuclear planetology department of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This is stated in the website European Space Agency.
“The TGO probe can search and study” oases “of Martian water hidden under a layer of dust and soil that we simply could not detect in the past. ice “, – noted the authors of the study.
As you know, the Marineris valleys are a gigantic system of canyons that are located in the southern hemisphere of Mars. Their approximate length is about 4.5 thousand km, and their depth is 11 km.
The FREND neutron spectrometer installed on board the ExoMars-TGO probe helped to open the ice reserves. It is capable of tracing traces of water and other hydrogen compounds in the bowels of Mars.
Astronomers believe that the amount of water in the near-surface rocks of Chaos Kandora is at least 40%. Moreover, in the form of pure ice, which, in comparison with other similar finds, is in a stable state.
“This either speaks of the unique climatic and geological conditions in the Mariner valleys, or indicates that the local water reserves are constantly replenished,” the scientists summed up.
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Photo: esa.int
Water-rich region of Valles Marineris mapped by ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
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We will remind, earlier scientists stated that in the past there were lakes on Mars, rivers and even the ocean. But liquid water disappeared about 3.5 billion years ago, along with much of the atmosphere.
Hidden in the rock. The mystery of the disappearance of the water of Mars
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