Where Should Future Astronauts Land on Mars? Follow the Water
NASA Astronauts on Mars (Illustration): In this illustration, NASA astronauts drill into the Mars’ subsurface. The agency is creating new maps that show where ice is most likely to be easily accessible to future astronauts. Credit: NASA. Full image and caption ›
A new NASA paper provides the most detailed map to date of near-surface water ice on the Red Planet.
So you want to build a Mars base. Where to start? Like any human settlement, it would be best located near accessible water. Not only will water be crucial for life-support supplies, it will be used for everything from agriculture to producing the rocket propellant astronauts will need to return to Earth.