A trench dug by the Phoenix’s robotic arm shows traces of ice on Mars

New York, June 22: Water has been uncovered for the first time on Mars, raising hopes that the Red Planet may be capable of sustaining life.

Nasa scientists have revealed that the Phoenix Mars Lander has sent back the first definitive proof that there is water ice hidden beneath the surface of the alien rust-coloured planet.

After 20 days of scratching its way through the Martian top soil, the spacecraft uncovered a bright white layer just two inches below the surface.

Four days after the white layer was first exposed to sunlight, photographs taken by the lander’s on board camera showed the white surface had disappeared.

This proves, the scientists say, that the white layer was not salt as had been previously thought possible because it was melting.

“It is with great pride and a lot of joy that I announce that we have found proof that this hard bright material is really water ice and not some other substance,” said Peter Smith, from the University of Arizona, who is the principal investigator on the Phoenix mission.

“We have found the proof that we’ve been seeking.”

Chemical analysis of soil containing the white layer are still to be completed, but there is no doubt in the minds of Nasa scientists that they will further confirm the presence of water.

The photographic evidence comes on top of observations made in 2002 by Nasa’s Odyssey orbiter which suggested there was a strong chance that the polar regions of Mars contained significant quantities of water ice within 20 inches of the surface.

Scientists will now begin asking whether the frozen water could have been liquid at some point in the planet’s history, which would have created an environment in which life could have evolved.

Channels and gullies seen on the Martian surface suggest the planet enjoyed a wetter past, but it is thought much of the water evaporated — while at the poles it was trapped beneath the surface in the form of ice.

They will use the Phoenix’s array of instruments and its 8ft robotic arm to study minerals and search for organic material in the soil.

Experts believe that if life once existed on Mars, it could still survive today in isolated pockets beneath the soil. Bacteria on Earth have been found to be capable of thriving in even the most hostile of environments around volcanoes and in nuclear reactors.

The presence of water ice on Mars will also make future missions to send humans to the planet easier.

Nasa has plans to send astronauts to the planet after it has returned humans to the Moon in 2020, and hopes eventually to establish a permanent base on the Red Planet.