Giant reservoir of 'hidden water' discovered on Mars

[Abramelin]

An enormous cache of water has been found just a few feet beneath the surface of Mars. 

The European Space Agency's ExoMars orbiter has discovered significant amounts of water in the Valles Marineris canyon, the largest known canyon in the solar system. According to the researchers, 40 percent of the near-surface material of the 15,830 square mile (41,000 square kilometer) region could be water ice.  

Data beamed back from the Trace Gas Orbiter's (TGO) Fine-Resolution Epithermal Neutron Detector (FREND) instrument found unusually high levels of hydrogen, which alongside oxygen makes up water, at a site called Candor Chaos — a Netherlands-size region located at the heart of Valles Marineris. Since life on Earth is highly dependent on water, evidence of water on Mars could be a vital clue that the planet was once home to life — or that life could still be there.

https://www.livescience.com/water-found-beneath-mars

[Grim Reaper 6]

This is an amazing discovery for two reasons. First Water would be of a primary concern to a Mars mission since those who depart for the mission pwill have to possibly remain behind until a future mission replaces them. Second all that water could also serve as a Oxygen Source for those who stay behind. The technology already exists to separate Oxygen from water, that is  how our Nuclear Submarines could if they choose to stay submerged for years at a time. They have a built in Oxygen separator that separates Oxygen from Sea Water.

That is a great discover, thanks for sharing! 

[The_Phantom_Stranger]

I saw this last night. Scientists have been contemplating for the last few years if there is a resevoir of underground water on Mars besides the from the Pole. Formations in craters seem to show evidence of water that may have moved underground. This is contrast to the idea that Mars has lost most of its water by dust storms and axis changes blowing the water out of the atmosphere into space.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/First_evidence_of_planet-wide_groundwater_system_on_Mars

https://www.space.com/mars-deep-groundwater-recurring-slope-lineae.html

https://www.space.com/scientists-find-groundwater-signs-on-mars.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundwater_on_Mars

http://www.sci-news.com/space/martian-water-09971.html

https://www.space.com/mars-water-escapes-to-space-in-dust-storms