Frosty Peaks Found on Mars

Scientists have been hunting for evidence of water on Mars ever since they started looking at the Red Planet through telescopes. But Mars does have water, and lots of it; solid water in the form of ice locked up in its polar caps and buried under its surface. And, if observations made by ESA’s Mars Express are indicative of similar processes seen on Earth, these ancient hills may also hide hidden deposits of ice.

The images taken from the Mars Express show an oblique view of the southernmost tip of a long chain of hills in Mars’ northern hemisphere called Phlegra Montes, generated from data acquired by the High Resolution Stereo Camera aboard ESA’s Mars Express. The resolution is about 15 meters per pixel.

These rounded hills are thought to have once been covered by thick glaciers during a Martian ice age a few hundred million years ago. Like Earth, Mars’ rotational axis has a “wobble” that affects its global climate over long periods. While there are no glaciers in Mars’ mid-latitudes today, geologic evidence indicates there once were – and the shape of the surface around Phlegra Montes hints that there could still be ice just 20 meters underground.

Aprons of debris surrounding some of the hills resemble those found in glacial regions on Earth, where subsurface ice causes material to slump downhill.

The search for water on Mars is important to scientists who are trying to figure out how Mars may have gone from a warmer, wet world to the cold dry one we see today. Learning where the water has gone and how much of it is remains liquid or is now frozen solid is part of that process.

In addition, future long-term human exploration of Mars will rely on knowledge of where any potential sources of water might be found.

Launched aboard a Russian Soyuz/Fregat rocket on June 2, 2003, Mars Express has been in orbit at Mars since December 25, 2003.