Remains of mars ice field discovered
25 February 2005
by Richard
Conan-Davies
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There could be a sea of ice underneath the surface of mars according to the latest analysis of images taken by the European Space Agency's Mars satellite Mars Express. The ice field, vaguely similar to the appearance of ice field on Earth, are part of part of a region on mars called Elysium Planitia. It is thought that the ice could still be underneath a solidifed flow of lava and dust. Dr John Murray from the Open Univeristy who has been leading the study of the images will have his analysis presented the Journal Nature. The ice sea is about 800 kilometres long and 900 kilometres wide with a depth of about 45 metres. It is thought that the submerged craters are too shallow to be unfilled. This suggests that most of the ice is still in the craters. The surface is too horizontal there would be a greater height variation if the ice had disappeared. |
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