Water IceProspecting — mapped / surveyed

Mid-Latitude Subsurface Ice

Mid-latitudes (30°–60° N and S), within 1–5 meters of surface

Fresh mid-latitude Mars crater that excavated bright water ice from just beneath the surface (HiRISE) — Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona (MRO HiRISE)

Estimated Quantity

Estimated > 5 million km³ total

Based on GRS/HEND neutron spectroscopy and SHARAD radar stratigraphy

As of 2020-01-01

Location & ISRU Feasibility

Where

Northern mid-latitudes (~30°–60°N); priority crewed-access targets in Arcadia Planitia and Deuteronilus Mensae

Extraction feasibility

High feasibility

NASA's SWIM project maps mid-latitude buried ice as the resource for the first crewed landing sites — far enough poleward for plentiful ice, yet close enough to the equator for survivable temperatures and adequate atmosphere for descent.

Extraction technology

Proposed shallow drilling / heated-auger extraction within the upper ~1 m at favorable sites; mapped by SHARAD radar, neutron spectroscopy and thermal data, but not yet demonstrated on Mars.

Overview

Mars Odyssey's Gamma Ray Spectrometer discovered widespread hydrogen signatures in the top meter of Martian soil at latitudes above 60°, later confirmed as water ice by Phoenix lander (confirmed H2O ice at 5 cm depth in 2008). MRO's SHARAD radar has mapped massive buried glaciers at mid-latitudes — some hundreds of meters thick. These subsurface glaciers are a major ISRU resource target for future crewed missions.

ISRU Application

Primary water source for crewed surface habitats; mining with heated drill could extract several liters/hour per site

Sources

[1] USGS / Nature Astronomy (Morgan et al. 2021) — retrieved 2026-06-13
[2] NASA Science — retrieved 2026-06-01

Confidence: high · Last verified 2026-06-01

← All Mars Resources

Continue the story