NASA oraz Italian Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency oraz JAXA wydały oświadczenie o pracy nad ewentualną misją mapowania zasobów marsjańskiego lodu zwaną Mars Ice Mapper:
NASA and three international partners have signed a statement of intent to advance a possible robotic Mars ice mapping mission, which could help identify abundant, accessible ice for future candidate landing sites on the Red Planet. The agencies have agreed to establish a joint concept team to assess mission potential, as well as partnership opportunities. Under the statement, NASA, the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced their intention to develop a mission plan and define their potential roles and responsibilities. If the concept moves forward, the mission could be ready to launch as early as 2026.
The international Mars Ice Mapper mission would detect the location, depth, spatial extent, and abundance of near-surface ice deposits, which would enable the science community to interpret a more detailed volatile history of Mars. The radar-carrying orbiter would also help identify properties of the dust, loose rocky material – known as regolith – and rock layers that might impact the ability to access ice.https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-international-partners-assess-mission-to-map-ice-on-mars-guide-science-prioritiesWarto przypomnieć, że propozycja misji Mars Ice Mapper pojawiła się w czasie kadencji Prezydenta Trumpa w propozycji budżetu NASA w jednym z ostatnich lat budżetowych. Niestety nie pamiętam czy to był budżet dla NASA za rok fiskalny 2019 czy 2020.
Poniżej wizja Mars Ice Mapper oraz trzech okołomarsjańskich satelitów telekomunikacyjnych
Wątek: Mars Ice Mapper (Przeczytany 1684 razy)