The water was found in one of the regions of Valles Marineris – the largest known canyon in the solar system, which is 10 times longer and five times deeper than the Grand Canyon in the United States. Scientists estimate that the area they discovered is comparable in size to the Netherlands (about 41,000 km²), and water there could make up up to 40% of the topsoil.
This region is very similar to permafrost areas on Earth, where water ice remains beneath dry soil due to persistently low temperatures.
An instrument called the Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND) helped detect TGO water. It sees neutrons emerging from the planet’s surface, which could be a marker of hydrogen content up to 1 meter deep.
This discovery could affect the planning of future missions to the Red Planet, including landing people. The presence of such an amount of water at shallow depths makes this region very attractive for the landing of the first expedition.
