/sci/ - Science & Math

>>15891877
> Proportion of water ice present in the upper meter of the Martian surface for lower (top) and higher (bottom) latitudes. The percentages are derived through stoichiometric calculations based on epithermal neutron fluxes. These fluxes were detected by the Neutron Spectrometer aboard the 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
> The Mars Odyssey neutron spectrometer observations indicate that if all the ice in the top meter of the Martian surface were spread evenly, it would give a Water Equivalent Global layer (WEG) of at least ≈14 centimetres (5.5 in)—in other words, the globally averaged Martian surface is approximately 14% water.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_on_Mars#Present_water

>>8077605
>most people would argue that climate change/global warming is a form of accidental terraforming.
Sure, but the total mass of human industry on Earth is staggering.
Human CO2 emissions on Earth are about ~30Gt/yr. Trying to do that elsewhere would be challenging, to put it mildly.

>>8077607
>A big problem with colonies/cities on Mars is that we don't know if Mars has a similar (or larger) amount of aquifers under it's surface.
Ice actually appears to be fairly common on Mars. If you move away from the equator, there are entire glaciers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_on_Mars#Present_water_ice
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaciers_on_Mars
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/gallery/latestimages/20030724a.html