WEBVTT - Could Colonists Dig Up Ice on Mars?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff. From how stuff works. Hey, they

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<v Speaker 1>are brain stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. Mars has large

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<v Speaker 1>deposits of near pure water ice just beneath the surface

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<v Speaker 1>at mid latitudes, a discovery that could have huge implications

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<v Speaker 1>for future human settlement of the Red planet. Astronauts could

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<v Speaker 1>essentially just go there with a bucket and shovel and

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<v Speaker 1>get all the water they need, said Shane burn in

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<v Speaker 1>a press release from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Burne, who

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<v Speaker 1>works at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory

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<v Speaker 1>in Tucson, co authored a new study using the suite

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<v Speaker 1>of instruments and cameras on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter or

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<v Speaker 1>m r O to uncover this icy find. Buried just

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<v Speaker 1>a few meters under the ground and covered by fused

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<v Speaker 1>rock and dust. These layers of ice were discovered at

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<v Speaker 1>eight sites in eroded scarps or steep hillsides. The most

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<v Speaker 1>exciting thing about these sites is that they're in regions

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<v Speaker 1>that could be accessible to future Mars explorers at to

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<v Speaker 1>fifty eight degrees latitude in the north, othern and southern hemisphere,

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<v Speaker 1>negating the need for traveling to challenging polar latitudes to

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<v Speaker 1>access a frozen water supply. These ice deposits come from

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<v Speaker 1>layers of ancient snow that became buried under rock and

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<v Speaker 1>more snow over time. These deposits have become exposed as

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<v Speaker 1>these scarps eroded. But how did layers of snow become

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<v Speaker 1>deposited at such low latitudes in the first place. Although

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<v Speaker 1>Mars currently exhibits ice and snow on the surface only

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<v Speaker 1>at high latitudes, this wasn't always the case. Mars experienced

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<v Speaker 1>shifts in its climate over the eons as its axis

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<v Speaker 1>of rotation changes. Its axial tilt currently approximates that of Earth's,

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<v Speaker 1>but over the course of hundreds of thousands, and even

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<v Speaker 1>millions of years, mars tilt has varied dramatically, driving global

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<v Speaker 1>climatic shifts. Scientists can therefore use the information recorded in

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<v Speaker 1>these scarps as an ancient geological record of how Mars's

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<v Speaker 1>climate has evolved. Leslie Tempari, m r O, Deputy project

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<v Speaker 1>scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told us, if you

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<v Speaker 1>had a mission at one of these sites, say umpling

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<v Speaker 1>the layers going down the scarp, you could get a

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<v Speaker 1>detailed climate history of Mars. It's part of the whole

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<v Speaker 1>story of what happens to water on Mars over time,

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<v Speaker 1>Where does it go, when does ice accumulate, when does

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<v Speaker 1>it recede. The study, which has been published in the

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<v Speaker 1>journal Science, is a real help to future human Mars

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<v Speaker 1>mission planners. To set up a viable human presence on

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<v Speaker 1>the Martian surface, astronauts will need to harness on site resources.

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<v Speaker 1>It would be wildly prohibitively expensive to bring all the water, fuel,

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<v Speaker 1>and building supplies with them from Earth. Tapping into a

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<v Speaker 1>plentiful supply of near pure water ice will be critical

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<v Speaker 1>for providing drinking water and a fuel resource, not to

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<v Speaker 1>mention irrigation for crops. Previously, scientists have confirmed large deposits

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<v Speaker 1>of subsurface water ice using ground penetrating radar, but the

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<v Speaker 1>information about what the ice is mixed with and the

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<v Speaker 1>quantity of water has been difficult to decipher. Now, by

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<v Speaker 1>studying these scarps, scientists have found that these deposits are

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<v Speaker 1>close to being pure water ice, and through observations by

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<v Speaker 1>orbiting space, we know where to send our astronauts too

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<v Speaker 1>big for water. Today's episode was written by Ian O'Neill

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tristan McNeil. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other cool topics, visit our home planet, how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff Works dot com.