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Underground Ice on Mars: Characterization Activities, Potential as an In Situ Resource, and Possible Destination for Human Explorers
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  • Ali Bramson,
  • Jennifer Heldmann,
  • Nathaniel Putzig,
  • Gareth Morgan,
  • Matthew Golombek,
  • Nathan Williams,
  • Colin Dundas,
  • Hanna Sizemore,
  • Alfred McEwen,
  • Eric Petersen,
  • Matthew Perry,
  • Stefano Nerozzi,
  • Asmin Pathare,
  • David Baker,
  • Isaac Smith,
  • Samuel Weston Courville,
  • James Head,
  • David Beaty,
  • Paul Wooster
Ali Bramson
Purdue University

Corresponding Author:bramsona@purdue.edu

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Jennifer Heldmann
NASA Ames Research Center
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Nathaniel Putzig
Planetary Science Institute
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Gareth Morgan
Planetary Science Institute
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Matthew Golombek
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Nathan Williams
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Colin Dundas
U. S. Geological Survey
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Hanna Sizemore
Planetary Science Institute
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Alfred McEwen
University of Arizona
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Eric Petersen
Univ of AK-Geophysical Inst
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Matthew Perry
Planetary Science Institute
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Stefano Nerozzi
University of Arizona
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Asmin Pathare
Planetary Science Institute
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David Baker
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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Isaac Smith
Planetary Science Institute
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Samuel Weston Courville
Arizona State University
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James Head
Brown University
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David Beaty
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Paul Wooster
SpaceX
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Abstract

One of the next giant leaps for humanity—inhabiting our neighbor planet Mars—requires enough water to support multi-year human survival and to create rocket fuel for the nearly 150-million-mile return trip to Earth. Water that is already on Mars, in the form of ice, is one of the leading in situ resources being considered in preparation for human exploration. Human missions will need to land in locations with relatively warm temperatures and consistent sunlight. But in these locations, ice (if present) is buried underground. Much of the ice known to exist in mid-latitude locations was likely emplaced under climate conditions (and orbital parameters) different from today. So in addition to providing an in-situ resource for human exploration, Martian ice also provides a crucial record of planetary climate change and the effects of orbital forcing.This presentation will highlight techniques and recent activities to characterize Mars’ underground ice, such as the Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) Project (Morgan et al. 2021, Nature Astro.; Putzig et al. In Press, Handbook of Space Resources; Putzig et al. this AGU; Morgan et al. this AGU). We present outstanding questions that will be vital to address in the context of ISRU (in situ resource utilization) and connections between these questions and the climate in which the ice was emplaced and evolved (e.g., Bramson et al. 2020, Decadal White Paper). Lastly, we discuss how these science activities intersect with future exploration, particularly that enabled by collaborations between space agencies as well as industry partners (Heldmann et al. 2020, Decadal White Paper; Golombek et al. 2021, LPSC).High-priority future work includes better orbital characterization of shallow ice deposits, such as radar sounding at shallower scales (<~10m) than that of SHARAD, as proposed for the International Mars Ice Mapper. Also needed are detailed studies of the engineering required to build potential settlements at specific candidate locations; this includes characterization of the nature of the overburden above the ice, which will inform future resource extraction technology development efforts. Ideally, initial landing sites would be chosen with a long-term vision which includes preparation and development of the basic technologies and designs needed for human landing on Mars.