Mars had enough water to cover the entire planet

Scientific field

Astronomy

Date

5-3-15

Source
elpais.com/elpais/2015/03/05/ciencia/1425578431_158706.html

Summary

4,500 million years ago, our neighbor in the universe harbored enough water to cover the entire planet with an extensive but shallow sea with an average depth of only 137 meters, according to NASA announced today.

It was known that the planet had water, but not how much or for how long. "Mars was wet for about 1,500 million years, much longer than was necessary for the emergence of life on Earth," says Geronimo Villanueva, an Argentine NASA engineer who has led the team of scientists has reconstructed the martian past.
The engineer recalls that the European ExoMars mission plans to land on Mars in 2018, with a drill two meters. If confirmed the existence of groundwater, facilitate sending astronauts to Mars. Water is not only for drinking, but with the right technology can be used to obtain hydrogen as fuel ship back or to power a colony of humans.

Opinion

If this discovery is true, it's a very good new for the science because it means there could be life in Mars. If humans could do a colony of humans would be absolutely fantastic. Nevertheless, humans would probably start destroying this planet - as is happening now in the Earth.
But for the day humas arrive and do a colony in Mars has to pass a lot of time because we don't know at all what could happen or if a human could survive there for one or two months.

Glossary

Harbor: A place of shelter; a refuge.

Shallow: Measuring little from bottom to top or surface; lacking physical depth.

Average: The usual or ordinary kind or quality.