Mars had more water than the Arctic Ocean, NASA study says

Scientists have already established the fact that Mars had abundant water at some point of time in history. There were many speculations were made about quantities of water on Mars.

As per the latest data, the planet contained more water than the Arctic Ocean. The planet had ocean to a depth of around a mile and occupied half of its northern hemisphere at peak of its youth. The data gathered by powerful telescope reveal signatures of water in the Martian atmosphere. NASA in its statement on Thursday has confirmed this development.

The advance facilities used for the groundbreaking discovery were three high tech infrared telescopes. The first one was at the W.M. Keck Observatory, the NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility and the Very Large Telescope, which was used to analyze water molecules in the red planet’s atmosphere.

Scientists analyzed different forms of water (H₂O and HDO). In case of HDO, the usual hydrogen atom is replaced by Deuterium, a heavier isotope of Hydrogen. This isotope has remained in the atmosphere after billion years.

The scientists, who conducted the study, wrote in Thursday edition of Science, journal for scientific research that the traces of water in atmosphere indicated that there was enough water to cover an entire planet 137 meters deep.

Geronimo Villanueva, author of the paper and NASA scientist informed,” This work has shed light on the history of water on the red planet. The exact figures of Martian water lost to space are calculated by our research. “

The data collected NASA’s Curiosity rover clearly showed that Mars had water 1.5 billion years ago. This research has expanded this timeline backwards. This means red planet was habitable for a longer period than estimated.  The scientists are still unable to find out the reason behind the disappearance of such large amount of water to the space.

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