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The remains of ancient river valleys and furrows indicate that liquid water once flowed over the surface of Mars. At present, most of the water that remains on the planet is probably concentrated in the polar caps or on the ground.
However, some of it turns into vapor and, in the form of hydrogen, evaporates from the atmosphere, two researchers from the Open University in the UK said in an article in the journal Science Advances.
They detected the vapor by analyzing the light passing through the Martian atmosphere with a Nadir and Concealment for the Discovery of Mars (NOMAD) spectrometer.
This device is installed on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), a Martian orbital probe launched in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian state agency Roskosmos.
“This fantastic device gives us water that has never been seen before [elementų] image of isotopes in the atmosphere of Mars, as a function of time and space, ”said Manish Patel, senior professor of planetology at the Open University.
“The study of the isotopes of water is a crucial element in understanding how the planet Mars lost water over time and, at the same time, how the planet’s suitability for life has changed throughout its history,” he added.
In terms of exploring Mars, this week has been eventful.
China’s Tianwen 1 probe, launched last July, entered orbit around the Red Planet. This success has become the latest achievement in Beijing’s ambitious space program.
On Tuesday, the UAE’s probe to Amal (“Hope”) also successfully flew in orbit around Mars. Al Amal is the first interplanetary research machine launched by a state in the Arab world.
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