5 Global Distribution of Subsurface Water Measured by Mars Odyssey

Abstract

While the presence of water in minerals of the Martian surface has been known for many years and the storage of ground ice in the past and present was suggested from geomorphologic observations and theoretical calculations, the amount and global distribution of different forms of water were not well constrained until recently. Mars Odyssey for the first time succeeded in mapping gamma rays and neutrons from Mars bearing information on, among others, soil water contents as well as their geographical and vertical distribution in the shallow subsurface.