Content uploaded by Cole C. Pazar
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Cole C. Pazar on Jun 01, 2021
Content may be subject to copyright.
[pre-print]
____________________
1Colorado School of Mines, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center for Space Resources.
2Interplanetary Space Resource Alliance (ISRA).
3ICON Technology, https://www.iconbuild.com/
Resource Assessment of Phlegra Montes, Mars
May 2021
Cole Pazar1,2, Thao Nguyen1, Jason Ballard1,3, Johanna Erika Valdueza1, Amy Crandall1
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Summary
This report presents a preliminary geologic survey and resource assessment for a
region of Mars that contains suitable candidate landing sites for humans. The
Phlegra Montes (PM) region is in the range of latitudes where there exist multiple
indications of ice around the planet. A combination of environmental factors (i.e.,
geologic diversity, climate, elevation, and topography) suggests that PM potentially
hosts the conditions and resources necessary to a human landing site and to support
a colonization infrastructure. Water is the first resource needed to produce methalox
propellant on Mars and for life support. The three primary types of ice-indicative
deposits on Mars are lineated valley fill (LVF), concentric crater fill (CCF), and
lobate debris aprons (LDA). All three types of deposits in PM have been identified
from orbital imagery and we estimate there to be ~750 km3 of water-ice present. If
properly mined, this is enough ice to supply greater than ~100 million Starship
launches. We present a resource assessment analysis and ranking of the 7 landing
sites selected by NASA/SpaceX in PM, as well as 3 new sites (PM8–10) identified
by our team. To improve the chances that a human colony will eventually become
a thriving self-sustaining city, this report synthesizes current geologic information,
remote sensing data, and geomorphology to address if the available resources make
it feasible to sustain cycles of >1000 humans on Mars.
2
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
1. Geologic Overview
The Phlegra Montes (PM) region is an approximately 1,400 km-long region of rugged,
mountainous terrain that extends from 30˚ to 52˚ N and 160˚ to 170˚ E. The Amazonian volcanoes,
such as the Elysium Mons, produced the flood lavas and lava flows that sourced the PM geologic
material. Eruption of these basaltic lava flows occurred during the Hesperian and Amazonian
periods and formed the Elysium rise, creating channelized flows and lobate flows. These processes
likely took place in the Noachian and extended in the Hesperian periods.
In addition, based on crater frequency measurements, the age of PM has been limited to
3.91 to 3.61 billion years, which implies that the PM range is much older than the surrounding
lowlands (DLR, 2015). The age of the glacial-like features within PM are much younger; however,
based on crater-frequency analysis, are only 50-100 million years old (Shultz et al., 2014). This
sets an upper bound on some of the surface features, but it is important to recognize that some of
these features may be as young as 5-10 million years old.
Figure 1: Topography of Phlegra Montes (MOLA). Landing sites 1–10
within the rectangles.
3
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
The map in Figure 1 provides overview of the PM region, showing its topography and
north-south trending mountain range. As discussed later in this paper, ten potential landing sites
are depicted on this map because of their suitability for future missions. The characteristics
considered in choosing these sites include location, slopes, the extent of water-ice deposits that
could be extracted for in-situ resource utilization, etc.
The volcanic geologic units are known as the Amazonian and Hesperian volcanic units
(AHv) (<3.65 Ga) and Hesperian Volcanic edifice units (HVe) (3.65-3.71 Ga). The geology of the
uplands that contain the PM is composed of the Hesperian and Noachian transition unit (HNt)
(3.77-3.91 Ga) and the degraded Early Hesperian Transition unit (eHt) and the Late Hesperian unit
(IHt) (3.65-3.71 Ga), similar to HVe. IHt is associated with the Lowland areas of the PM.
Hesperian sedimentary units are bordering the uplands of the Hesperian-Amazonian period. These
ages are estimated since there have been no samples of materials that have been studied from Mars,
and subsequently, no radiometric dating of the samples has been possible. Figure 2 depicts the
geology of the PM area as developed by Tanaka et al. (2014) and obtained through the ArcGIS
online library and overlain on MOLA topography maps.
Figure 2: Geology of Phlegra Montes overlain on MOLA Topography
4
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
Also characteristic of the geologic terrain of
the Phlegra Montes region are a series of ~13 thrust
faults that were mapped by Kling, C.L. and Klimczak,
C., 2015. Figure 3 shows that they have a consistent
strike of NNE-SSW with six of the faults dipping to
the east. Kling and Klimczak suggested that these
processes could be related to the cooling and
contraction of the Martian interior.
1.1 Geomorphology.
The PM region is characterized by rounded,
dome-like mountains with intervening valleys and
basins occupied by viscous flow features (VFF). VFF
is a general term that encompasses glacial-type
formations that provide evidence for the occurrence
of viscous flows of materials. VFFs are commonly
found at the bases of slopes in the mid-latitudes of
Mars (NASA, 2017). Remote sensing data and the
topographic context of this area suggest that these are
glaciers, similar to those found on Earth. Hibbard, S.M.
et al. suggest near-stable ice was deposited on Mars within the mid-latitude regions during periods
in which the planet’s obliquity was >30˚ (Mars’s obliquity is currently only ~25˚). The Mars
Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer’s Neutron Spectrometer measurements suggest a hydrogen-
bearing subsurface layer consistent with 35 ± 15 percent ice by weight within the first few
centimeters of the surface and more with depth. Other instruments, such as the SHARAD, have
also indicated ice across the mid-latitude areas of Mars, including the PM region.
VFFs include lobate
debris aprons (LDA) and lineated
valley fill (LVF) features in the
Phlegra Montes region, shown in
Figure 4. LDA features generally
exhibit a gentle slope from cliffs
or dome-like mountains and
appear to include a build-up of
rock debris. The LDA features
associated with PM appear to be
similar in age and units of the
upland deposits and include the
upland areas' low plains.
Figure 3: Thrust faults in the Phlegra
Montes region.
Figure 4:Viscous flow features in Phlegra Montes taken by MOC onboard
Mars Global Surveyor.
5
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
LDAs were most likely
formed over multiple cycles of ice
accumulation and advance,
indicated by boulder banding
(similar to ancient debris-covered
glaciers on Earth). Supraglacial
debris atop LDAs is suggested to
result partially from sublimation
that releases fine sediments that
were entrained in the LDA
accumulation zone and partially
from rafting of large rockfall that
travel supraglacial, forming
longitudinal rocky zones similar
to terrestrial moraines (Levy, J.S.
et al., 2021). This cycle is
depicted in Figure 5.
Concentric crater fills (CCF) are also found within the PM area. CCFs are landforms in
which the floor of a crater is mostly covered with many concentric ridges and smooth features that
indicate ice activity. sequence of crater ice-filling, climate change, and ice stagnation,
downwasting, and accumulation periods are believed to have formed the CCFs observed today. A
clear image of a CCF and the formation process are shown in Figure 6.
The abundant evidence of widespread near-surface ice in a flat-lying lower mid-latitude
region of Mars makes this region a potentially favorable site for future missions due to the high
potential for in-situ resource utilization (Hibbard, S.M., 2021). Gallagher et al. (2021) suggested
Figure 5: Formation process for lobate debris aprons, debris covered
glaciers, and rock glaciers.
Figure 6: Classic concentric crater fill (CCF) and sequence of modification within and around the two-crater system.
6
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
that a total of >16,000 km2 of VFF
exceeding 50 km2 have been mapped in
PM. Additionally, the region known as
LDA 1694 is the thickest regional VFF, at
~390 m. This area is Landing Site 1, as
previously indicated in Figure 1. Some
radar reflectors with dielectric constants
similar to nearly pure ice (Golambek et al.,
2021) have been suggested in this area.
These glacier features noted in Gallagher et
al. were drawn for this study and overlaid
on CTX imagery in ArcGIS for the
southern PM region, shown in Figure 7.
The CTX images utilized for this image
were obtained through the ArcGIS ESRI
database.
1.2 Summary of the literature of previous work.
The following literature was reviewed for this study. Throughout this paper, we discuss
the potential landing sites designated by Golombek, M. et al. that SpaceX is considering initial
Starship Mars missions. We further evaluated these sites and identified more potential sites that
we will address in this paper. Another study that is very relevant to our study was prepared by
Gallagher et al. This study addresses the major glacial landforms that we assessed for potential
water-ice resources.
§ SpaceX Starship Landing Sites on Mars, 2021, Golombek, M. et al.
§ Phlegra Montes: Candidate Landing Site with Shallow Ice for Human Exploration, 2020,
McEwen, A.S. et al.
§ Evidence for widespread glaciation in Arcadia Planitia, Mars, 2021, Hibbard, S.M. et al.
§ Surface boulder banding indicates Martian debris-covered glaciers formed over multiple
glaciations, 2021, Levy, J.S. et al.
§ Landforms indicative of regional warm based glaciers, 2021, Gallagher, C. et al.
Figure 7: Glacier features, LDA, CCF, COMP, and LVF within
the southern Phlegra Montes
7
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
2. Materials
To date, no landed instruments have performed direct surface sampling of the Phlegra
Montes region. Chemical, mineralogical, and physical properties are drawn from orbital data,
lander data from other sampled regions, and geologic inference.
2.1 Martian Soil & Rocks
2.1.1 Chemical Composition
Data from multiple landing regions
suggest that Mars is covered in soil that has
fairly uniform global major element
composition up to a few centimeters in
depth (Bell, 2008). This supports the
hypothesis of a globally mixed soil, driven
by dust storms. Figure 8 summarizes
chemical composition data from Spirit,
Opportunity, and the Curiosity rovers,
which reveal the Martian soil to be of
basaltic composition with enrichments in
sulfur and chlorine relative to the Martian
basaltic crust. Local variations including
alkali-rich rocks were observed.
While chemical soil composition
appears to be fairly uniform across the Martian surface, rock compositions vary widely based on
location and local geology.
2.1.2 Mineralogical Composition
Local geologic processes cause mineralogical variation across the Martian surface, which
is reflected in the composition of both regolith and aeolian bedforms. Generally, the Martian upper
crust is basaltic with variations in plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine - these crustal mineralogical
variations are reflected in the local soil. The mineralogical composition of Mars including the
Phlegra Montes region has been measured using infrared spectroscopy instruments onboard
orbiters.
2.1.3 Physical Properties
Large boulders greater than 5m in diameter have been imaged in the Phlegra Montes region.
Martian glacial terrain typically has highly varied grain sizes and is unsorted.
Figure 8: Elemental compositions of typical soils from three
landing regions on Mars. Note: concentrations of silicon dioxide
and iron oxide were divided by 10, and nickel, zinc and bromine
levels were multiplied by 100 (Catalog Page for PIA16572, 2012)
8
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
2.2 Martian Atmosphere
The Martian atmosphere is composed of approximately carbon dioxide (95%), nitrogen
(2.8%), argon (2%), with trace amounts of water, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and noble
gases with an average pressure of 610 Pa (Franz et al., 2017). There is a seasonal variation (up to
30%) in atmospheric pressure driven by the temperature difference during northern and southern
polar winters. The base/lowlands of the Phlegra Montes region sit at about -4 km in elevation, with
peaks approaching 0 km elevations - on Mars, the zero point of elevation is taken to be the
elevation at which atmospheric pressure is 610 Pa, while the pressure at -4 km is approximately
900 Pa (Mars Education | Developing the Next Generation of Explorers, 2012).
2.3 Water and volatiles
In this section we will discuss the various forms of water that have been proposed to exist
in the Phlegra Montes region - an assessment of the available data can be found in the subsequent
“Resources” section. Some of the other trace volatiles that may exist other than water is in the
forms of hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, and methane.
2.3.1 Subsurface Water Ice
The presence of subsurface ice in
Martian mid-latitude regions has been detected
from various orbital observations (Dundas et
al., 2018). The SWIM (Subsurface Water Ice
Mapping) project (Morgan et al., 2021), which
integrates multiple orbital remote sensing
datasets to assess the likelihood of Martian mid-
latitude subsurface ice being present in shallow
(<5m depth) and deep (>5m depth) zones
(Figure 9), was used to see the presence of
subsurface ice in our target locations.
SWIM’s methodology includes a
separate assessment of each orbital dataset to
identify distinct properties of the subsurface that provides proxies for the presence of ice (Morgan
et al., 2021). For example, thermal datasets are used to look for regions with high subsurface
thermal inertia, consistent with the presence of ice, whereas the radar surface analysis is to find
evidence of ice-like low density materials (Morgan et al., 2021).
To come up with a combined assessment of the presence or absence of subsurface ice in
all datasets, the SWIM project uses the SWIM equation, a quantitative approach to see the
consistency of various remote sensing datasets with the presence of ice. In the SWIM equation the
overall “ice consistency” for each pixel of the map is calculated by summing each individual
consistency value and normalizing by the number of datasets. The consistency values range
Figure 9: Various depth resolutions of available
datasets.
9
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
between +1 and -1, where +1 means data are consistent with the presence of ice, 0 means data
indicates absence of ice, and -1 means that the data are inconsistent with the presence of ice.
Based on the Combined Ice consistency map, our target sites within Phlegra Montes
mountain range are consistent with the presence of subsurface ice between 1 meter and 5 meters,
as shown in Figure 10.
2.3.2 Hydrated Minerals
Surface hydrated minerals such as phyllosilicates, silica, chlorides, carbonates, and
sulfates have been detected by the Mars Express Mission’s OMEGA instrument and Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter CRISM instrument (Pathare et al., 2018). The Mars Global Surveyor
TES instrument data has been used to develop a dust coverage index that suggests that much of
the northern lowlands of Mars, including the Phlegra Montes region, are covered in dust layers a
few 10s of microns thick which may obscure evidence of hydrated minerals from the
aforementioned instruments (Ruff et al., 2001).
Figure 10: Combined Ice Consistency Map with the presence (or absence) of subsurface ice between 1 meter
and 5 meters.
10
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
3. Resource Assessment
In order to determine the feasibility of
landing humans in the Phlegra Montes region due
to the suspected abundance of water-ice, we took
measurements of the surface area for all three types
of deposits to estimate their volume. The obvious
geomorphological characteristics that leads us to
believe there is still water ice present in LVF,
LDA, and CCF deposits today are the glacial-like
flow-lines, glacial boulders, open and closed cell
‘Brain terrain’, complex ridges, and moraine
deposits. Some of the ice on Mars is deposited as
snow, and some directly from the gaseous phase
onto the surface.
The first potential resource we would like
to address are the CCF’s. These are landforms in
the floor of a crater that is mostly covered with
many parallel ridges and smooth features that
indicate ice activity. Our team estimated the water-
ice volume for 54 CCF’s in PM based on transient
crater diameters and maximum excavation depths.
Then, the approximate percentage of the fill that is
ice was calculated from these diameters ranging
from 3-5% of the maximum depth (Figure 12).
Figure 11: OMEGA and CRISM hydrated mineral detections.
Figure 12: percentage of water-ice out of the total
excavated depth of the craters, as a function of volume.
11
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
Equation 1 shows our assumption for average crater depth as a function of measured crater
diameter, d. The variation of ice thickness for each crater was calculated using the mathematical
formula (equation 2) for transient crater maximum excavation depth:
ℎ
"
= ℎ!
$
"
#$
%
;''''𝑧 ∗'= 2𝑘𝑚''''';''''ℎ!% =10𝑚
eq. (1)
𝐷&'( = 0.1𝑑)* = 𝑑)+
!,-. ∗'𝑑/
!,0.''''';''''''𝑑)+ = 9𝑘𝑚
for Mars eq. (2)
The final crater diameters were measured by our team and using this we were able to
determine the maximum excavation depth of these craters. Using this number, we compared this
to our assumption from equation (1) above and found the percentage of fill we call water-ice ranges
from 3-5% depending on crater diameter, as seen in Figure 12. For example, in Figure 13, we see
that if there are 10 billion tons of ice in a crater, the average cumulative thickness would be ~70
meters, while for a 5 km in diameter crater, the average thickness is ~25 meters. This assumption
is lenient and conservative in its estimates, while it remains consistent with the known geologic
processes and to analog landscapes on Earth. Figure 13 on the right also shows the size distribution
of the 54 craters that were mapped in this study. The map in Figure 15 shows all 54 craters and
each region outlined in red and blue respectively.
12
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
Figure 13:Crater fill cumulative ice thickness as a function of total mass of ice (left), and Crater size distribution,
diameter vs. sample number (right).
Figure 14 shows possible processes for CCF formation and resulting configurations.
Figure 14: Geological processes for hypothetical resource deposits in Martian ice-filled craters.
Figure 15 was produced by performing the mapping manually and marking all possible water-ice
related resources in the PM region to perform an assessment of landing sites.
Figure 15: Resource assessment map used in calculations for water-ice volumes and total mass.
13
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
Figure 16: Resource volume calculations for all craters, debris aprons, and valley fills.
For this assessment we were able to determine that 5 of the regions mapped contain on the
order of 100 cubic kilometers of ice - while the cumulative crater volume is also ~100 km3. This
equates to ~100 billion metric tons of water-ice. Using the molar proportion of hydrogen in the
reaction from water to methane, it takes ~590 tons of water to produce enough hydrogen for 260
tons of methane (1 full LCH4 tank on Starship). Thus, we conclude there is enough water-ice
present across PM for ~170 million Starship launches. Figure 17 shows visually how much
112,500 tons is, and that this equates to approximately 190 Starship launches.
Figure 17: Starship scale amount of water-ice needed for 190 launches.
We cannot stress enough the importance of sufficient power generation via. solar power
and nuclear reactors on the surface of Mars and/or in orbit around the planet in determining the
feasibility of extracting this ice. This is the primary means by which extracting this water for
human use can become feasible. If the question is: is there enough water to refuel a Starship, then
the answer is yes. Can it be feasibly extracted has yet to be determined but will be addressed in
our space mining company architecture section of this report. If there is even just 600 tons of water
14
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
required, say we need it in a year’s time, this yields 68.5 kg/hour – the rate of water extraction
necessary to meet production of 1 fueled tank, which is reasonable.
The geomorphic evidence put forth in this report increases the likelihood of mission
success in future campaigns to the PM region. The evidence suggests that there is at least enough
water ice to sustain a colony on Mars in the near future by enabling the return and reflight of
Starships. The most difficult hurdle to overcome with regards to water certainty in PM is the nature
and distribution of the glacial debris and detritus. Rodwell-type drilling methods have been
proposed for Mars missions in the past, and we propose future missions to test and prove different
designs in Antarctica on Earth to use on Mars prospecting and mining development.
The equations used for the resource assessment ranking (Figure 18) depicted below is
found through multiplying each column together, however inversely proportional to the slope:
Ranking number:
𝑅# = 2 ∗ 𝑖 ∗ 𝑎 ∗ 𝑝 ∗ 𝑧*/*(𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 + 1)
(eq. 3)
Figure 18: Resource assessment ranking.
The ice consistency, i, is based on the fraction of the measured area that has geomorphic
features that indicate ice. The availability, a, is the accessibility level of the deposits and the
landing sites with respect to the ease for transportation infrastructure and construction. Proximity,
p, is a metric that represents how close is this deposit to other deposits of its kind. All 7 of the first
sites have the highest proximity rating because they are all close to each other. PM-8 has a
mountainous boundary to its west, so its proximity is less unless you tunnel underneath the rocky
terrain. Sites PM-3 and PM-6 are further to the north from the other sites, which is why it gets the
15
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
lowest proximity rating, but the region does provide a large swath of flat LVF terrains. The average
thickness, z, of each deposit (besides CCFs) was determined based on the SHARAD constraint of
10-100m thick, then deduced into the 10-50m range for each type of deposit depending on its size
and morphology. The three highest ranked landing sites we conclude are PM-1, PM-2, and PM-9.
This is significant because PM-9 was previously not reported in the literature.
Through these results, we can conclude that there is at least some water ice available for
humans and that there may be more than enough to sustain propulsive rocket technologies for
thousands of years. It is important to recognize that the technological systems for the drilling and
robotic campaign that would be required to constrain the feasibility of extraction of water in these
regions are beyond the scope of this report. However, we can say with reasonable confidence that
on the order of 900kW of solar power would be sufficient at the surface to produce enough
propellant at a rate of 570 kg/hour.
4. Space Mining Company Architecture
For the purpose of this hypothetical scenario where humans can travel to Mars, the
architecture and ISRU goals of “The Space Mining Company" (known hereafter as “The
Company”) are as follows:
“Our most important target is water resources. Based on mapping work from the SWIM
team, we know that ground ice should be present near the surface at Phlegras. We will
establish a rodwell here to pump water out. If this proves to be unsuccessful, our backup
plan is to extract water from hydrated minerals that are found everywhere on Mars."
This architecture can essentially be broken into two parts:
1. A rodwell to pump water out of near-surface ground ice
2. A backup plan to extract water from hydrated minerals
The presence of glacial-like forms in the Phlegra Montes region combined with its location
in a region generally considered favorable to the presence of near-surface ice, this group would
issue a classification for water ice as a resource in the PM area is “probable,” or in the 50-90%
confidence interval. It is therefore likely that any space architecture plan that depends on the use
of accessible water ice through a rod-well or other equipment is feasible (Abbud-Madrid et al.,
2016).
From a business perspective, harnessing even the lowest yield Mars regolith water resource
for ISRU would offer a 6x improvement over an LOX-only ISRU in the terms of the mass of
propellant generated for each kg of total ISRU system mass (Abbud-Madrid et al., 2016). We
recognize that there is not enough evidence for hydrated minerals in PM, but that there may be
more of these materials beneath the surface since it is mostly obstructed by dust cover.
16
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
Figure 19:Solar-powered Rodwell-type drilling schematic. Adapted from Talalay (2020).
However, any rodwell system would need sufficient heating capabilities to melt ice before
pumping (and to maintain liquid temperatures during pumping) since the water resources are likely
to be found primarily in solid form. This is accounted for by the use of solar arrays on the surface.
Additionally, the purity of the water is unknown, and it is therefore highly advisable to include
filtration and distillation mechanisms in the rodwell extraction system. These three necessities
(heating, filtration, and distillation) will increase the mass and power needs of the overall ISRU
system, and therefore its cost.
Regarding, the second part of the space mining architecture, “If this [rodwell pump] proves
to be unsuccessful, our backup plan is to extract water from hydrated minerals that are found
everywhere on Mars”: It is the assessment of this group that such a plan is quite dubious. Given
the age and geological conditions of the Phlegras Montes region, it is presumed to possess
insufficient hydrated minerals in the local area to support ISRU operations with a primary goal of
water extraction. We would classify the resource potential for hydrated minerals in the area as
<50% (not even probable) and therefore unsuitable for commercial or human use.
It is our judgement that The Company should abandon the plans for the hydrated mineral
processing system completely and focus all of its efforts on the rodwell water extraction system.
Additionally, we recommend that the mass and power that would have been allocated for the
backup systems instead be allocated for heating, filtration, and distillation systems to ensure that
the extracted water is of sufficient quality.
17
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
5. Conclusion
For future missions, we suggest landing starships in all 10 of the identified locations, in the
order that we ranked them. Further investigations and studies into similar features on the opposite
side of the planet should also be addressed in addition to PM and Arcadia Planitia. Next steps in
this study, we would further constrain the ice volumes by more accurately mapping the extent of
the lineated valley fills, rather than assuming a fraction of the area is mountainous. We would also
start measuring craters less than ~1 km in radius as well, which was not done in our report. The
most promising means of understanding how to extract the ice will come from the robotic drills
that we sent to determine the consistency of the ice vs glacial till and dust. It is likely that there is
a large percentage of durst, we believe between 10-30% within these deposits. One major hurdle
to overcome will be the robot’s ability to change positions that it drills into, in the case of the drill
hitting a large boulder entrained in the ice. We propose a mission to send rovers with drills,
accompanied by prospecting drones to survey the region. With extreme confidence, our team can
say there is at least enough ice in this region for sustaining an early Martian base. A strong case
exists for a vast quantity of ice if it is proven to be easily extracted. We plan on sending future
exploration rovers and drones to PM before sending humans, to ensure ground truth data is
consistent with the evidence for ice.
18
Resource Assessment Report for Phlegra Montes, Mars. ISRA, May 2021©
6. References
Bell, J. (2008). The Martian Surface: Composition, Mineralogy and Physical Properties. Cambridge University Press.
Catalog Page for PIA16572. (2012). JPL Planetary Data System. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16572
Coles, K.S., Tanaka, K, L., and Christensen, P.R. (2019). The Atlas of Mars, Mapping Its Geography and Geology, Cambridge
University Press.
Dundas, C. M., Bramson, A. M., Ojha, L., Wray, J. J., Mellon, M. T., Byrne, S., Holt, J. W. (2018). Exposed subsurface ice
sheets in the Martian mid-latitudes. Science, 359(6372), 199-201.
Ehlmann, B. L., & Edwards, C. S. (2014). Mineralogy of the Martian surface. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences,
42.
Franz, H. B., Trainer, M. G., Malespin, C. A., Mahaffy, P. R., Atreya, S. K., Becker, R. H., Benna, M., Conrad, P. G.,
Eigenbrode, J. L., Freissinet, C., Manning, H. L., Prats, B. D., Raaen, E., & Wong, M. H. (2017). Initial SAM calibration gas
experiments on Mars: Quadrupole mass spectrometer results and implications. Planetary and Space Science, 138, 44–54.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2017.01.014
Gallagher, C. et al. (2021). Landforms indicative of regional warm based glaciers, Phlegra Montes, Mars, Icarus 355.
Golombek, M. et al. (2021). SpaceX Starship Landing Sites on Mars, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2021 (LPI
Contrib. NO. 2548).
Hibbard, S.M. (2021). Evidence for widespread glaciation in Arcadia Planitia, Mars, Icarus 359.
K.L. Tanaka, et.al. (2014). Geologic Map of Mars, Scale 1:20,000,000, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map
SIM 3292. URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3292.
Kling, C.L. and Klimczak, C. (2015). Thrust Fault Displacement at the Phlegra Montes Lobate Scarp System, Mars, 46th Lunar
and Planetary Science Conference.
Levy, J.S. et al. (2021). Surface boulder banding indicates Martian debris-covered glaciers formed over multiple glaciations,
PNAS 2021 Vol. 118 No 4.
Mars Education | Developing the Next Generation of Explorers. (2012). Mars Education at Arizona State University.
https://marsed.asu.edu/mep/atmosphere#:%7E:text=It%20happens%20on%20Mars%20because,northern%20and%20southern%2
0polar%20winters.
McEwen, A.S. et al. (2020). Phlegra Montes: Candidate Landing Site with Shallow Ice for Human Exploration, 2020, Seventh
Mars Polar Ice Science Conference 2020 (LPI Contrib. NO. 2099)
Morgan, G.A., Putzig, N.E., Perry, M.R. et al. (2021). Availability of subsurface water-ice resources in the northern mid-
latitudes of Mars. Nat Astron 5, 230–236. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-01290-z
NASA (2017). https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia21554/a-mass-of-viscous-flow-features, accessed on April, 29, 2021.
Pathare, A. V., Feldman, W. C., Prettyman, T. H., & Maurice, S. (2018). Driven by excess? Climatic implications of new global
mapping of near-surface water-equivalent hydrogen on Mars. Icarus, 301, 97–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.09.031
Ruff, S. and P. Christensen. (2001). A Spectrally-Based Global Dust Cover Index for Mars from Thermal Emission Spectrometer
Data. First Landing Site Workshop for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover, 63.
Talalay P.G. (2020). Hot-Water Ice Drills. In: Thermal Ice Drilling Technology. Springer Geophysics. Springer, Singapore.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8848-4_3
Weiss, B.P., et al. (2014). Mars Compass: A Magnetometer for the Mars 2020 Rover, 45th Lunar and Planetary Science
Conference (2014).
