For years, the towering dust sculptures of the Medusae Fossae Formation on Mars have baffled scientists. Were they just windblown sand or something more? Finally, ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has cracked the code: beneath those dunes lies the biggest water discovery on the Martian equator ever: an ocean of ice, buried over 3 kilometres deep!
Unravelling the mystery wasn't easy. Early hints of ice from Mars Express needed confirmation. Dust, volcanic ash, and sediment could all be hiding under the surface. But new, deep-penetrating radar data cleared the fog. The signals bounced back from the MFF matched the telltale signature of layered ice, just like the frozen caps at Mars' poles.
This buried water is a scientific treasure trove and a potential game-changer for Martian exploration. Future missions will likely land near the equator, far from the icy poles. Finding water here, a crucial resource, could be a lifeline for human explorers.
But there's a catch. These icy riches are buried under hundreds of metres of dust, out of reach for now. Still, each piece of the Martian water puzzle adds to our understanding of the planet's past and its potential to harbour
And Mars Express isn't alone in this cosmic detective story. ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is sniffing out hydrogen, a telltale sign of water ice, in the Martian soil. Together, these spacecraft are painting a complete picture of water distribution on the Red Planet, one drop at a time.