When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.Silhouetted against the blue sky, a drone carrying a ground-penetrating radar instrument lifts off from Galena Creek Rock Glacier in Wyoming. | Credit: Jack W. HoltA new study suggests the search for usable water on Mars may soon rely on an unexpected tool: drones equipped with radar, flying just above the surface to peer underground in ways orbiters cannot.Researchers led by the University of Arizona have shown that drone-mounted ground-penetrating radar can map buried glaciers on Earth in remarkable detail, offering a blueprint for how similar techniques could be used on Mars. The work focuses on glaciers in Alaska and Wyoming that closely resemble debris-covered ice deposits identified on the Red Planet, according to a statement from the university.AdvertisementAdvertisement”If you want to make decisions about where to drill on Mars, you need to know if the ice you’re trying to find is under one meter of debris or 10,” Roberto Aguilar, lead author of the study and a doctoral researcher at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, said in the statement. “That’s the kind of information a drone-based system could provide.”A research drone equipped with ground-penetrating radar takes off for a reconnaissance flight on Galena Creek Rock Glacier, Wyoming. | Credit: Michael DanielFor decades, Mars missions have relied on orbital radar instruments, such as the Shallow Radar sounder (SHARAD) aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, to detect subsurface ice. These systems have confirmed that vast amounts of water ice are locked beneath layers of rock and dust, particularly in the planet’s mid-latitudes. But while orbiters can identify large ice deposits, they struggle to resolve finer details near the surface — including exactly how deep the ice lies and how thick the overlying debris may be, Aguilar explained in the statement.That limitation is critical. For future missions, knowing whether ice is buried beneath a meter of loose debris or tens of meters of hardened material could determine whether it is accessible at all.The study shows drone-based radar can fill that gap. Flying low over glaciers across Alaska and Wyoming, researchers mapped ice thickness, detected debris layers just a few feet thick and revealed internal structures within the ice. The results were validated with field measurements from excavations and drilling, along with simulations confirming the radar signals originated beneath the debris.AdvertisementAdvertisementOn Mars, similar systems could scout buried ice and map the debris above it, resolving features orbiters cannot see. Instead of drilling blindly, mission planners could target locations where ice lies closest to the surface, providing a clearer picture of its depth and distribution.”We already knew ground-penetrating radar works, but this was the first time we mounted it to drones and tested how we could put it into practice,” Aguilar said in the statement. “For instance, we learned at what altitude and speed the drone should fly, as well as the importance of flying in the direction o …
