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Frozen Water Spotted In Martian Craters
An orbiting spacecraft has spotted frozen water in some Martian craters.
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PASADENA, Calif. (September 24, 2009)--A spacecraft that’s orbiting Mars has spotted frozen water in several craters midway between the north pole and equator, and the instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter estimated that the newfound ice is 99 percent pure.
It's the first time ice so close to the surface has been discovered so far south on the red planet, and it comes as a surprise to scientists.
Previous spacecraft have detected ice lurking below the Martian surface.
Before the Phoenix Lander froze to death last year, it dug trenches and touched ice specks at its arctic landing site.
Last year, radar observations from the Reconnaissance Orbiter pointed to the presence of buried glaciers in the Martian mid-latitudes.
The findings are in Friday’s issue of the journal Science.
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