India will soon know if its first interplanetary mission will achieve its goal, when a spacecraft built with home-grown technology for a remarkably low price tag of US $75m begins its final manoeuvres into orbit around Mars.

New photographs from space suggest that water occasionally flows on the frigid surface of Mars, raising the possibility that the Red Planet is hospitable to life, scientists reported tonight.

A provocative new study of photographs taken from orbit suggests that liquid water flowed on the surface of Mars as recently as several years ago, raising the possibility that the Red Planet could harbour an environment favourable to life.