This Is the Best Spot for Humans to Land on Mars Yet, NASA Says

This Is the Best Spot for Humans to Land on Mars Yet, NASA Says

4 years ago
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https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xgqq5w/this-is-the-best-spot-for-humans-to-land-on-mars-yet-nasa-says

Humans have been dreaming about landing on Mars for more than a century, and NASA aims to finally achieve this vision in the coming decades. The question now is: Where should astronauts take the very first steps on Mars?

Arcadia Planitia, a flat region shaped by ancient lava flows, may fit the bill, according to a study published on Monday in Geophysical Research Letters. This area contains abundant deposits of shallow ice just below the Martian surface, which would enable astronauts to easily harvest their own water instead of lugging it over from Earth. The ice is so close to the surface that astronauts could get to it with hand tools, if they needed to.