Drawn to Mars, these researchers found themselves in Yukon instead

Mars and the North have more in common than you would think.

Their similarities brought around 80 astroscientists to Yukon this week, representing universities and space agencies from all over the world. 

They were attending the eighth international conference on Mars polar science. This year, Whitehorse was chosen to host for its proximity to polar terrain, according to organizers.

The scientists took field trips to Kluane National Park and Tombstone Territorial Park to explore, learn about First Nations history and broaden their polar frames of reference. Visiting glaciers in Kluane, for example, was an opportunity to see Mars-like formations up close.

“It’s not an exact match, but the processes on both planets are really similar,” said Michelle Viotti, who works for NASA in Pasadena, California, where the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is working to bring Martian rock samples home and study them for signs of long-ago life on Mars, alongside the European Space Agency.

“By understanding our home planet, we can really understand a different planet through the eyes of our rovers, orbiters and landers,” Viotti said.

Pruthvi Acharya, a PhD candidate from York University in Toronto, was surprised at the striking similarities between Kluane and the high-resolution images of glaciers on Mars.

“To me, they look the same,” Acharya said, describing the glacier flow lines and crater walls visible on both planets. “They’re not formed in the same way – I’m guessing – but the similarities were really fascinating and really cool to see.” 

Ground-breaking research

Scientists convene at this conference every four years to share the latest research in ice and climate science on Mars. 

Of the 80 attendees, nearly everyone made a presentation over the course of the week, representing Canada as well as Europe, the U.S., the Middle East and South America.

Some presented hypotheses and asked the audience to contribute ideas. Others outlined new methods of research and described what their team had tried over the past four years.

“It’s just extremely exciting to see everyone from the community,” said Stefano Nerozzi, who hails from Italy and specializes in geological mapping and subsurface radar on Mars. “To meet them, hear about their research and chat about future research efforts.”

Outstanding questions and developments will be synthesized into a peer-reviewed publication at the end of the conference, with the help of several audience note-takers.

‘Where there’s ice … there’s life’

Isaac Smith, the conference’s organizer, is a professor at York University and a Canada Research Chair with special interest in studying ice on Mars.

Ice on Mars is key to both future exploration and to understanding the planet’s history, Smith explained.

“It’s fascinating. There’s more ice on Mars than in Greenland. It has ice caps, just like on Earth,” Smith said. “At some point, we’re going to send people there, and people are going to need resources when they get there.”

Smith was accompanied to the conference by a handful of York’s PhD students, including Shamira Andress, who helped co-organize the conference. 

Andress studies a region of Mars called Phlegra Montes, which has been proposed as a future human landing site. The potential of human exploration fuels interest in ice, she explained, which can be resourced for drinking water and oxygen.

“We always say where there’s ice, there’s water, and where there’s water, there’s life,” she said.