The discovery of water in the surface of our neighboring planet, Mars, can be considered as a great milestone in the hopes of bringing people to the red planet.
Dr. Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program, said in a statement that water is one of the most valuable necessity to continue the exploration mission to find out if Mars is suitable for life. "Certainly one of the challenges of going to Mars - and particularly sending people - is [that] we need resources for astronauts to survive," said Dr. Meyer. "One of the primary needs is water. Having a water source available to us means that we don't have to send water. While it may or may not accelerate getting humans to Mars, it certainly makes it easier," the scientist explained.
In a report from Star Tribune, Charles E. Woodward, a professor at the Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics at the University of Minnesota, said that the exploration of the life susceptibility of Mars is a must despite the fact that the United States is currently facing some monetary difficulties.
"The exploration of space, whether out of robots or telescopes or humans, is the sort of endeavor a great country aspires to," said Woodward. "To really lead and explore the unknown has a lot of derivative impact on society in stimulating people's interest in science and technical fields and aeronautics, and providing that manifest destiny fervor in the populous," explained the Professor.
In an interview by Cornell Daily Sun with Prof. Alexander Hayes, the professor in astronomy said that the discovery of water in Mars may affect the public opinion about the red planet as a double-edge sword. "While this is amazing research that is deserving of a press conference, the public has also heard multiple press conferences that claim to have discovered water on Mars. The difference here is that we are talking about active natural processes that result in flowing water (as opposed to condensation on a spacecraft part) today as opposed to the past. Whether or not the public is sensitive to that distinction has yet to be seen," Prof. Hayes pointed out.
