Could you drink the Ice on mars to stay alive?

Question

Could you drink the Ice on mars to stay alive?

Answer 1

If the ice is water ice then sure.  Of course there is more to surviving there than just having water but it is a good start.  If we were to ever setup a base on Mars (which some propose) then having access to water is critical.  Water is heavy and thus hugely expensive to cart into space.  If you can just get water from ice already there one big hurdle to a Mars base is behind you.

They always knew Mars had ice at the poles.  But it helps if there is ice just underground so they could access water from other locations.

Answer 2

Well, if water were your only concern, I suppose so. First, you'd have to melt it, and since it only possibly exists at the poles and maybe below the surface in a sort of permafrost, it would be a challenge to get enough to do you any good. Honestly, I think the lack of breathable atmosphere, extremely cold temperatures and raging dust storms would be more likely to bother you than just being thirsty.

Answer 3

Assuming all your other needs (oxygen, shelter, food, heat) were taken care of, then yes, if you found water ice on Mars, you could probably drink it.  

But if you were stranded on Mars, without those other things, that might be the least of your worries.  You're likely to be dead before you get around to finding ice to melt.

Assuming no nasty microbes ever lived on Mars to thaw out when you melted the ice.  If they did, you might be in trouble.  First case of Martian dysentery is likely to be fatal.

However, most of the readily available ice on Mars is not water ice but CO2 ice.  You can't drink that.

The Phoenix lander recently seems to have confirmed that Mars does indeed have buried deposits of water ice, however.

Answer 4

No you could not but what in the world would you be doing in Mars

Answer 5

if its a water ice , it will be ok, but what if it is a carbon dioxide ice ? and what about oxygen to breath? and what about another neurants, nedeed for body reactions.

Answer 6

Yes, but it would be quite frisky and you would become quite hungry.

Answer 7

Ice is frozen water, H2O, nothing else. Water will keep you alive. If it's on Mars, it'll be harder to get to, but probably potable.

Answer 8

Very doubtful that it is H20, so it would be undrinkable.