WATER definitely exists on Mars, scientists operating a probe that has been digging on the planet’s surface confirmed.
The discovery made by the American space agency Nasa’s Phoenix Mars Lander raises hopes of finding traces of life on the Red Planet.
The news scientists had been waiting for came after soil collected on Wednesday was tested in the craft’s on-board laboratory.
Water vapour given off when the sample was heated was identified by a chemical analyser carried on Phoenix.
The sample was scooped up from a 2in trench dug by the probe’s robot arm.
Phoenix landed on Mars on May 25 in a region near the north pole where scientists suspected frozen water may lie a few inches under ground.
Dr William Boynton, from the University of Arizona in Tucson, USA, part of the Phoenix team, said: “We have water.
“We’ve seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted.”
With such encouraging results, Nasa has decided to extend the original three month mission by five weeks.
