Lander 'found ice in trench on Mars'

Scientists believe Nasa’s Phoenix Mars lander exposed bits of ice while recently digging a trench in the soil of the Martian arctic, the mission’s principal investigator said today.

Crumbs of bright material initially photographed in the trench later vanished, meaning they must have been frozen water that vaporised after being exposed, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, said in a statement.