Lots Of Hydrogen Has Been Discovered In Massive Canyon System On Mars

Astronomers have detected what they call an unusually high quantity of hydrogen in the heart of the massive 2485 mile-long Canyon system on the surface of Mars called Valles Marineris. The presence of so much hydrogen suggests there could be a significant water reserve inside the canyon.

The existence of the hydrogen was discovered by the FREND instrument on the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Scientists say their discovery suggests that at depths up to three feet below the surface, the soil in the region is rich in water.

The water reserves could be bound within minerals or sitting below the surface as ice. Mars is an extremely arid environment, and any long-term habitation of the Red Planet by humans will require water not only for drinking but for making rocket fuel and other materials.

Physicist Igor Mitrofanov, the lead author of the study, said, “FREND revealed an area with an unusually large amount of hydrogen in the colossal Valles Marineris canyon system: Assuming the hydrogen we see is bound into water molecules, as much as 40 percent of the near-surface material in this region appears to be water.”