# Huge ice deposits found at Mars' South Pole



## j d worthington (Mar 19, 2007)

Immense ice deposits found at south pole of Mars - Yahoo! News

The story is from Reuters, by Will Dunham, titled "Immense ice deposits found at south pole of Mars", datelined Thurs., Mar. 15, 2007:



> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A spacecraft orbiting Mars has scanned huge deposits of water ice at its south pole so plentiful they would blanket the planet in 36 feet of water if they were liquid, scientists said on Thursday.
> 
> The scientists used a joint NASA-Italian Space Agency radar instrument on the European Space Agency Mars Express spacecraft to gauge the thickness and volume of ice deposits at the Martian south pole covering an area larger than Texas.
> 
> ...


 
There's plenty more information in the story and other links elsewhere, but this is very interesting stuff, to say the least....


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## Allegra (Mar 19, 2007)

7 caves spotted too - BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'Cave entrances' spotted on Mars


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## j d worthington (Mar 19, 2007)

Ah, thank you, Allegra! Very interesting. This really is going to be a very fascinating time, isn't it....?


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## The Ace (Mar 19, 2007)

You're telling me ? liquid water on mars, caverns, who knows ?


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## Allegra (Mar 19, 2007)

Next we are gonna see the Mars cavemen waving to the earthlings.


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## The Ace (Mar 19, 2007)

Some idiot on day-release has already seen that, the book comes out on Thursday.


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## j d worthington (Mar 19, 2007)

The Ace said:


> Some idiot on day-release has already seen that, the book comes out on Thursday.


 
On a bit of a roll, are we, Ace?


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## Curt Chiarelli (Mar 19, 2007)

This is _very_ exciting news! Think of what this could mean for exobiology: the combined existence of water on Mars with the existence of volcanic caves or warm thermal shafts sheltered from meteorite hits and radiation. This just increases the possibility of finding extraterrestrial microbial lifeforms on the Red Planet several times over!


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## Talysia (Mar 19, 2007)

I've been following this story on the BBC website, and this is definitely one to follow.  If there are caves on Mars, and if so much liquid is locked up in ice at the southern pole, then who knows what other breakthroughs will be discovered about the Red planet.


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## Urien (Mar 19, 2007)

Water, dust, heat. Do you realize there could be MUD, MUD on Mars.

Dang I love mud.


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## Dave (Mar 19, 2007)

andrew.v.spencer said:


> Water, dust, heat. Do you realize there could be MUD, MUD on Mars.


And Martian Hippos?


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## mosaix (Mar 20, 2007)

Please, please let's get there in my lifetime.

The prospects for life there are so tantalising.


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## Moebius Tripper (Mar 21, 2007)

mosaix said:


> Please, please let's get there in my lifetime.
> 
> The prospects for life there are so tantalising.



********************************************************

Yeah, like those 3 four-sided pyramids that just so happened to form themselves a few miles away from a self-formed face with teeth no less!!!

Sorry, mosaix, but I couldn't resist!!!


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## j d worthington (Apr 4, 2007)

And here's a story that just cropped up over here on the subject of the caves....

Possible New Mars Caves Targets in Search for Life - Yahoo! News

Title: "Possible New Mars Caves Targets in Search for Life"; it's from SPACE.com, by Ker Than, datelined Mon., Apr. 2, 2004.


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## mosaix (Apr 4, 2007)

Moebius Tripper said:


> ********************************************************
> 
> Yeah, like those 3 four-sided pyramids that just so happened to form themselves a few miles away from a self-formed face with teeth no less!!!
> 
> Sorry, mosaix, but I couldn't resist!!!



Funny how NASA didn't supress the photo's of that 'face' isn't it?


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## HardScienceFan (Apr 4, 2007)

Curt Chiarelli said:


> This is _very_ exciting news! Think of what this could mean for exobiology: the combined existence of water on Mars with the existence of volcanic caves or warm thermal shafts sheltered from meteorite hits and radiation. This just increases the possibility of finding extraterrestrial microbial lifeforms on the Red Planet several times over!



_AND biomarker research into the spectra of M type stars is getting underway!These are exciting times

Aytch*70  percent water,no brains*
_


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