![]() This suggests that some special, as-yet-unclear mix of conditions must be present in Valles Marineris to preserve the water – or that it is somehow being replenished. The same applies to chemically bound water: the right combination of temperature, pressure and hydration must be there to keep minerals from losing water. Water ice usually evaporates in this region of Mars due to the temperature and pressure conditions near the equator. “Overall, we think this water more likely exists in the form of ice,” says Alexey. ![]() However, other observations tell us that minerals seen in this part of Mars typically contain only a few percent water, much less than is evidenced by these new observations. This water could be in the form of ice, or water that is chemically bound to other minerals in the soil. “With TGO we can look down to one metre below this dusty layer and see what’s really going on below Mars’ surface – and, crucially, locate water-rich ‘oases’ that couldn’t be detected with previous instruments,” says Igor Mitrofanov of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia lead author of the new study and principal investigator of the FREND (Fine Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector) neutron telescope.ĮxoMars Trace Gas Orbiter maps water-rich region of Valles Marineris However, such studies have only explored the very surface of the planet deeper water stores could exist, covered by dust. Missions including ESA’s Mars Express have hunted for near-surface water – as ice covering dust grains in the soil, or locked up in minerals – at lower latitudes of Mars, and found small amounts. Water ice is not found exposed at the surface near the equator, as temperatures here are not cold enough for exposed water ice to be stable. While water is known to exist on Mars, most is found in the planet’s cold polar regions as ice. The water, which is hidden beneath Mars’ surface, was found by the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO)’s FREND instrument, which is mapping the hydrogen – a measure of water content – in the uppermost metre of Mars’ soil.
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