SWIM project

• The Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) project has released its fourth and the more recent map of the prospective locations of subsurface water ice on Mars.
  • This will help mission planners decide where exactly to send the first humans to Mars.
• The SWIM project, led by the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and managed by Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, combines data from several Nasa missions, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), 2001 Mars Odyssey, and the now-inactive Mars Global Surveyor.
• The instruments — Context Camera (CTX) and High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HIRISE) — provided high resolution imagery of the Martian terrain.

IMPORTANCE

• 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.
• 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.
• SWIM project manager emphasised the importance of landing sites close to the equator, where the atmosphere is thicker, making it easier to slow a descending spacecraft.
• These regions also offer the warmest possible temperatures for astronauts in an icy region, reducing the energy required to keep astronauts and their equipment warm.