Why are we bothering looking for water on Mars? I heard they already found ice there?
That’s right, previous missions to Mars have found water vapour in the air and ice – you can see Mars’ polar ice caps (where the ice is) from images of Mars.
We are looking for liquid water because this is they type of water that can sustain life.
So is the rover using the drill to find liquid water underground?
Yes!
Lots of strange water sources can be found underground like underground rivers and oceans!
The main reason we look underground (using the drill) though is because we know very little can survive on the surface of Mars because of all the radiation from the Sun that hits the surface of Mars.
How will the rover know where to drill for water?
It has two very special pieces of technology to help it know where to drill.
The first is WISDOM which stands for ‘Water Ice and Subsurface Deposit Observation On Mars’.
WISDOM is a ground-penetrating radar that can help see underground! But WISDOM can only scan a few meters underground so it needs the second piece of technology to help it.
The second is ADRON.
ADRON is a neutron spectrometer which can scan and detect liquid water in the ground!
Both WISDOM and ADRON together will tell the rover where to drill for liquid water.
Thunderbirds Are Go: Mission To Mars is made with support from the UK Space Agency and International Rescue.
Thunderbirds Are Go: Mission To Mars
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