Water has been uncovered for the first time on Mars, raising hopes that the Red Planet may be capable of sustaining life. The Phoenix Mars lander mission Nasa: Exploring the arctic plain of Mars Telegraph science homepage Nasa scientists have revealed that the Phoenix Mars Lander has sent back the first definitive proof that there is water ice hidden beneath the surface of the alien rust-coloured planet. After twenty days of scratching its way through the Martian top soil, the spacecraft uncovered a bright white layer just two inches below the surface.
Four days after the white layer was first exposed to sunlight, photographs taken by the lander's on board camera showed the white surface had disappeared.
This proves, the scientists say, that the white layer was not salt as had been previously thought possible because it was melting. "It is with great pride and a lot of joy that I announce that we have found proof that this hard bright material is really water ice and not some other substance," said Peter Smith, from the University of Arizona, who is the principal investigator on the Phoenix mission. "We have found the proof that we've been seeking." Chemical analysis of soil containing the white layer are still to be completed, but there is no doubt in the minds of Nasa scientists that they will further confirm the presence of water. advertisement The photographic evidence comes on top of observations made in 2002 by Nasa's Odyssey orbiter which suggested there was a strong chance that the polar regions of the planet contained significant quantities of water ice within 20 inches of the surface. Scientists will now begin asking whether the frozen water could have been liquid at some point in the planet's history, which would have created an environment in which life could have evolved. Channels and gullies seen on the Martian surface suggest the planet enjoyed a wetter past, but it is thought much of the water evaporated - while at the poles it was trapped beneath the surface in the form of ice. They will use the Phoenix's array of instruments and its 8ft robotic arm to study minerals and search for organic material in the soil. Experts believe that if life once exist on Mars, it could still survive today in isolated pockets beneath the soil. Bacteria on Earth have been found to be capable of thriving in even the most hostile of environments around volcanoes and in nuclear reactors. The presence of water ice on Mars will also make future missions to send humans to the planet easier. Nasa has plans to send astronauts to the planet after it has returned humans to the Moon in 2020, and hopes eventually to establish a permanent base on the Red Planet, but one of the major challenges is transporting the water needed for humans to survive. Water is heavy and expensive to carry into space, so officials hope astronauts will instead be able to harvest ice from beneath the planet's soil and then to purify it for drinking water. It would mean that the planet could sustain life in the future, even if it never has before. The Phoenix spacecraft landed on the Martian surface on May 25 for its three-month mission. Since touching down near the planet's north pole it has been analysing the atmosphere and the soil, taking pictures of the surface and digging a number of trenches. The chunks of bright white ice were exposed on June 15 but by June 19 they had begun to vaporise. "This tells us we've got water ice within reach of the arm, which means we can continue this investigation with the tools we brought with us," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University. He added that the disappearing ice could not have been carbon-dioxide ice as at the temperatures on the surface, the material would have evaporated within hours rather than days. The fact it had evaporated at all disproved early theories that the layer was salt. Phoenix has hit a hard surface in another trench which is also believed to be an icy layer, and will also be tested. Professor John Zarnecki, director of the centre for Earth, planetary, space and astronomical research at Open University who is involved in a European mission to search for life on Mars due to launch in 2013, said the discovery was hugely exciting. He said: "All the evidence is piling up that there was at one point lots of water on Mars and there is still a lot locked up as ice. "There could very well be little niches just below the surface where the ice has melted to produce damp patches that would allow bacteria to hang on and grow in colonies. "We know from research here on Earth that life is far tougher than we previously thought – if it can thrive in hostile environment like nuclear reactors and acid rivers, then it could also be hanging on in pockets on Mars."
For the first time ever, NASA has confirmed the presence of water ice on Mars. The , which landed on Mars on May 25, has confirmed to NASA scientists that the white substance it found while digging a trench on June 15 is water ice.
In the lower left corner of the left image, a group of lumps is visible. In the right image, the lumps have disappeared, similar to the process of evaporation. 
"It is with great pride and a lot of joy that I announce today that we have found proof that this hard bright material is really water ice and not some other substance," said Peter Smith, the primary investigator for Phoenix, at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.

The chunks were left at the bottom of a trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" when Phoenix's Robotic Arm enlarged that trench on June 15, during the 20th Martian day, or sol, since landing. Several were gone when Phoenix looked at the trench days later. The chunks were visible on June 16, but when Phoenix looked at the trench again on June 19, some of the material had disappeared, implying that it may have evaporated or melted.

"This tells us we've got water ice within reach of the arm, which means we can continue this investigation with the tools we brought with us," said primary investigator for Phoenix's stereo imager, Mark Lemmon.

Scientists are planning to examine the substance and the soil surrounding it more closely. They plan to test it for signs of organic material and minerals, and hope to find out if the ice was ever a liquid which could have supported microbial life.

In December of 2006, scientists announced that the  captured images of deposits in gullies on the surface of the planet Mars which have been created since the areas were photographed nine years ago. These deposits were believed to be the residue of liquid water breaking out of cliffs and crater walls, carrying sediment downhill through the gullies, and later evaporating. The gullies are located inside the Terra Sirenum crater and the Centauri Montes regions.

In June 2007 the ESA's  spacecraft discovered ice deposits in the South Pole of Mars that are larger than the state of Texas. Scientists say that there is enough water in the deposits to cover the entire planet with up to 36 feet of water if the ice was to melt.