Mars Ice Mapper: New Agreement Between Thales Alenia And ASI

On March 8, 2024, was officially announced the agreement between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Thales Alenia Space for the development of an Earth-Mars communications system and the VHF Sounder payload, for the International Mars Ice Mapper mission ( I-MIM). This project, born from the collaboration between ASI, CSA, JAXA, and NASA, aims to explore the red planet and is scheduled to be launched between 2031 and 2033.

Thales Alenia Space signs contract with the Italian Space Agency to develop communication system for the International Mars Ice Mapper missionhttps://t.co/wWpFxgcvyk pic.twitter.com/m2eyNdMHMU

— Thales Alenia Space (@Thales_Alenia_S) March 8, 2024

The contract was signed between the president of the Italian Space Agency, Teodoro Valente, the general director Luca Vincenzo Maria Salamone, and the CEO of Thales Alenia Space, Massimo Claudio Comparini. This agreement represents a notable step forward for Italy thus confirming its fundamental contribution in the international race to explore Mars.

Specifically, the goal of this mission, whose contract is worth a total amount of approximately €22 million, is to identify and measure the extent and volume of water ice in the mid-and low-latitude regions of Mars, where it is possible to plan the first potential human surface missions to Mars.

The I-MIM mission

The architecture of the International Mars Ice Mapper Mission (I-MIM) is going through a consolidation phase, thanks to the collaboration of the four space agencies involved. The mission foresees the launch of a satellite into orbit around Mars, equipped with an L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and a VHF Sounding Radar. The main objective is to identify and map ice and water reserves located in the first meters of the Martian surface. These underground resources represent accessible sites that could be exploited to plan future human settlements and outposts on the red planet.

The I-MIM mission also includes:

• a free-flyer, equipped with a high-resolution camera that will perform observations independently and in synergy with the radar systems;
• a demo-lander, a project that aims to demonstrate innovative capabilities of safe and precise arrival on the Martian surface.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

The SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) method is an advanced radar technique that allows taking high-resolution images from large distances. It uses microwaves to measure distances, distinguishing itself from the radio altimeter which instead sends pulses toward the lowest point (nadir). Differently from the latter, SAR directs the pulses in a lateral direction. This observing principle allows the radar to collect signals from various objects at different times, distinguishing the targets and obtaining detailed images of the surface of a planet.

SAR images will provide valuable information for studying the characteristics of ice on Mars. Furthermore, it will monitor ice flow using repeated SAR images thanks to the image correlation technique, often named “speckle tracking”.

Buried ice on Mars

Recently, ESA confirmed the presence of ice in the Martian subsurface, a discovery made possible thanks to the European Mars Express probe, launched into space in 2003 to investigate the red planet. This discovery revealed one of its most enigmatic aspects and helped clarify its composition.

The water likely flowed in a climatic era that was very different from the current one, and existence is essential to hypothesize the presence of life in its most primitive forms. However, the goal of this discovery is not just scientific research. Indeed, ice presence is a fundamental resource for the first humans to set foot on Mars, as it can be used as drinking water and a key component for rocket propulsion.

SWIM project

In the international race to explore Mars, a big contribution was made by NASA with the SWIM project, which facilitates research and study of potential Mars landing sites for future human missions.

The last picture shows the Mars global maps and the distribution of water ice buried within 1 meter of the planet’s surface. This represents one of the latest data obtained by the teams of the SWIM project.

The regions highlighted in blue show plenty of ice at the poles, which is thought to have a composition mostly of water, and at minimum part of carbon dioxide or dry ice. Those regions are too cold for astronauts or robot techs to survive for long periods. This is a further problem that research teams are working on.

“If you send humans to Mars, you want to get them as close to the equator as you can. The less energy you have to expend on keeping astronauts and their supporting equipment warm, the more you have for other things they’ll need.”

— Sydney Do, JPL’s SWIM project manager