WASHINGTON (Reuters) –Ice deposits at least 6 feet thick can be found in some small craters on the moon,researchers reported Monday in one of two studies showing more evidence of water on the moon and Mars.
The second study suggested that ice has recently melted and re-frozen on Mars,widening some of the characteristic gullies on its surface.
The two studies add to the political and scientific debate about how best to explore our solar system and the universe —with missions that include human crews,or experiments using robots and remote surveys.
The administration of President Barack Obama last month said it would cancel the Constellation program to return astronauts to the moon by 2020 after a review found the $108 billion program was underfunded and already off-track to meet most of its goals.
Obama’s plan is to contract with private companies to do some of the work needed to investigate Mars,as well as asteroids,using robots,remote sensors and perhaps some astronauts.
“As the moon has been bombarded with water-bearing objects such as comets and meteorites and implanted with solar wind hydrogen over geological time,some of this material must have made its way into these cold,dark areas,”they wrote in Geophysical Research Letters.
