The ice at Mars' south pole contains enough water to cover the planet in an ocean 36 feet deep, scientists reported today.Observations by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter determined that the ice -- largely covered by dust and rock -- is more than 2 miles thick in places and is nearly pure water, according to research being published in the journal Science.
The latest findings provide tantalizing indications that some ice beneath the planet's surface may have melted, bolstering the possibility of finding life on the Red Planet.
Scientists have long hoped to find liquid water, although they suspected polar temperatures -- about minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit -- were far too cold for the ice to melt.
The Mars Express orbiter and its lander, Beagle 2, were launched in 2003. The lander was designed to look for past or present life but was lost. Controllers still don't know its fate.
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