What practical engineering hurdle do the saline RSL flows present for future explorers?
Answer
The high salt concentration requires intensive purification.
The high concentration of perchlorates and other salts necessary to depress the freezing point requires significant, energy-intensive purification processes before that water can be considered safe for life support or electrolysis.
Related Questions
What are the two primary states in which water exists on Mars today?What two substances make up the polar caps on Mars?What geological features provide the strongest historical evidence for a wetter Martian past?What process is identified as the first primary pathway for the massive loss of surface water to space?What is the second major sink for the missing Martian water volume, besides escape to space?Why must the liquid water flowing intermittently on the surface today be a very salty brine?What splits water molecules ($ ext{H}_2 ext{O}$) into hydrogen and oxygen high in the Martian atmosphere?Where are large, stable, subsurface oceans of liquid water theorized to persist today?What comparison is made regarding the volume of the ancient Martian ocean?What practical engineering hurdle do the saline RSL flows present for future explorers?