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"Frozen ocean" under Mars surface

Vast reserves of hydrogen lurk under the dusty Martian surface, scientists will confirm on Thursday, when scientific details of observations made by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft are revealed. That hydrogen is almost certainly locked up in crystals of water ice.

In March, scientists announced preliminary findings that hydrogen lies just beneath the Martian surface between 60 degrees south and the south pole. Instruments on the Mars Odyssey satellite had seen the telltale signs down to a depth of about a metre.

Even if the water ice only went down a couple of metres, the volume would have filled a large terrestrial lake at least. This has been hailed as good news for the search for life on Mars. Despite the frigid temperatures there, resilient microorganisms could theoretically still live on the planet.

And a large supply of water could be one factor that helps persuade NASA to plan an ambitious manned exploration of the Red Planet.

Down the plughole

The new results also hint at why the water that once carved channels on the Martian surface water has disappeared - it went underground. There is evidence that lots of water flowed on Mars in its early history when the planet was warm. But although the polar caps contain some water ice as well as frozen carbon dioxide, the amounts of water there today are relatively small.

On Thursday, the journal Science will carry three reports giving more details of the water distribution and NASA will hold a press conference. In particular, the reports are expected to reveal the extent of ice near the north pole of Mars.

Earlier measurements did not register lots of hydrogen under the surface near the north pole, but that may have been because it was hidden under a thick seasonal layer of frozen carbon dioxide.



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