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The dry red desert of modern Mars may seem to us the last place in the universe to look for water. But actually In fact, the Red Planet is fraught with a huge amount of water ice. Evidence that Mars once circulated liquid water, scientists have been looking for years and finally search missions were able to establish that at the poles of the planet water ice lies – just beneath the dusty surface of Mars. It is possible that drilling and heating, but not a single mission to this day has tried to extract a significant amount of water neither on Mars, nor on any other celestial body beyond the earth. Now the Dutch Mars One organization, the purpose of which is to organize a settlement on the Red Planet, plans to direct to a distant world reconnaissance apparatus. Among other things, he will have to demonstrate that it is possible to extract water on Mars. Water planet resources will be used for drinking, growing plants and creating fuel. The mission is scheduled for 2018. “Here, on Earth, we experimented with a variety of technologies, aimed at extracting moisture from the atmosphere and soil, – tells Ed Sedivy, Chief Engineer in the field aerospace security company Lockheed Martin and software Flight System Manager, Phoenix NASA Landing Module. – The main question is whether our technology is suitable for use. under the conditions of Mars. After all, there is a different concentration of water in the soil and others temperature. ”
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Pockets of water ice at the south pole of Mars (ESA photo). Numerous studies based on orbital data apparatuses and rovers, proved the existence of water on Mars. More Moreover, on the planet there is a system of canals, ancient lake craters and surface rocks and minerals that may formed only in the presence of liquid water. Today’s Mars too cold, and its atmospheric pressure is too low to liquid water remained on the surface (it can exist only at low altitudes and for very short periods of time). But below the surface of the soil, frozen water lurks in the ice. Module Phoenix NASA discovered water ice at its landing site back in 2008 year. The spacecraft took soil samples for analysis, and its an onboard mass spectrometer detected traces of water vapor when samples were heated. Not so long ago, the Curiosity Rover NASA drilled the planet’s surface soil and also discovered water molecules in soil samples. Scientists suggest that a liter of water contained in approximately 30 cubic decimeters of soil. Easiest will get water if you take samples of frozen ground, and then heat them so that water can turn into water vapor. True, there is another method that may actually be more effective. NASA Consultant Edwin Ethridge and his colleagues devised a way to extract water in simulated lunar and Martian conditions using microwave beams. During “lunar” experiment they used ordinary kitchen a microwave that “prepared” an imitation of lunar regolith (layer loose soil and rocks from the surface of the moon). Under influence frozen water was evaporated by heating, then it was collected using chilled plates on which it was deposited. Water is good absorbs short electromagnetic waves, which cannot be said about ice. Microwave rays actually heat stone particles, which then heat up the ice upon contact.
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Etridge is sure that the same technology will work on Mars. To everything else, less drilling is required for its implementation (however, if the water lies very deep, you will need to drill hole deep into and let the microwave beams through it). Mars in in this regard, far from the only place where scientists hope learn to get water. The astronauts are facing the same tasks and astronauts who visit the moon and asteroids. “Water production is very an important step, comments Bill Larson, curator NASA’s search for useful resources from other worlds. – If we going to conquer the solar system, we should learn use the resources that we will find in paragraph destination. “In particular, NASA and Canadian space agency (Canadian Space Agency) are developing a new Lunokhod called RESOLVE (Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction). Planned that he will go to the moon this decade, where he can drill surface and heat the material to measure the amount of water a couple in it.
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