Water-Ice Imaged in Martian Polar Cap

Explanation: Does water exist today on Mars? Yes, although the only place on Mars known to have water is the North Polar Cap , and that water is frozen. Views of this potentially life-enabling water-ice are usually obscured -- in the winter by darkness and in the summer by clouds . Last April, however, the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft was able to get a good glimpse of the water-bearing cap just before Martian spring. Low, dark layers in the above image are thought to contain a large amount of sand , while high, light layers likely contain higher amounts of water- ice . The image spans an area about 5 kilometers across.