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Mars is a fascinating, exotic territory yet to be properly explored by humanity. While we have sent rovers to the red planet, humans are yet to set foot on the alien land. 

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Planned future missions to find water ice on the planet aim to rectify that. However, a question that remains to be answered is where exactly on the red planet should they land to do this? A recent map might help mission planners answer this question.

A treasure map to Mars' water ice

The Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM), a NASA-funded project, has released its fourth and the more recent map of the prospective locations of subsurface water ice on Mars. This, as per NASA officials, will help mission planners decide where exactly to send the first humans to Mars.

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NASA mars ice map

The blue areas on this map of Mars are regions where NASA missions have detected subsurface water ice (from the equator to 60 degrees north latitude). Scientists can use the map-part of the Subsurface Water Ice Mapping project to decide where the first astronauts to set foot on the Red Planet should land. (Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Planetary Science Institute)

For this map, scientists used data from instruments abroad in the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. These instruments — Context Camera (CTX) and High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HIRISE) — provided high resolution imagery of the Martian terrain, reports Science Alert.

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Why is this important?

To put it simply, "The map could help the agency decide where the first astronauts to the Red Planet should land. The more available water, the less missions will need to bring."

As per a statement on the NASA website, ice buried on Mars will be a vital source for humans on Mars, serving both as drinking water and a key ingredient for rocket fuel.

Furthermore, these prospective locations of buried ice could one day help us know more about the red planet. Astronauts or robots could drill ice cores, that could help uncover "the climate history of Mars and exploring potential habitats (past or present) for microbial life."

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While locations with buried ice may be the best locations for landing humans on Mars, scientists don't want astronauts to go to locations that are too chilly. This is because cold will lead to the crew using up "precious energy" to stay warm.

"If you send humans to Mars, you want to get them as close to the equator as you can," said Sydney Do, SWIM's project manager, said in a statement. Hence, as per Sydney, an ideal spot would be a patch that has accessible ice but with as low a latitude as possible. Martian ice maps will help navigate this dilemma and decide on the apt location for human landing.

(With inputs from agencies)

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