Scientists Discover Clean Water Ice Just Below Mars' Surface
Locked away beneath the surface of Mars are vast quantities of water ice. But the properties of that ice\u2014how pure it is, how deep it goes, what shape it takes\u2014remain a mystery to planetary geologists. Those things matter to mission planners, too: Future visitors to Mars, be they short-term sojourners or long-term settlers, will need to understand the planet's subsurface ice reserves if they want to mine it for drinking, growing crops, or converting into hydrogen for fuel.