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Space

We could drill water wells in Martian ice to survive on the Red Planet

By Leah Crane

7 January 2019

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

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NASA Langley Advanced Concepts Lab/Analytical Mechanics Associates

If humans ever settle on Mars, they will need water for drinking, growing food and maybe even making rocket fuel. There’s just one problem – the Red Planet doesn’t seem to have any accessible liquid water, only huge sheets of ice.

Luckily, we know how to drill ice for water. Such wells are already in operation in Antarctica, and now it seems it might be possible to get them working on Mars too.

In 2018, pictures from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed eight cliffs of water ice covered in…

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