Posted by tourdemars to Mars Express at January 24, 2004 12:00 PM

Data relayed from Europe's brand-new mission to Mars gave dramatic backing yesterday to theories that the Red Planet was once awash with water, one of the precious ingredients for life. First results from the unmanned spacecraft Mars Express sketched the vision of a planet whose surface was once sculpted by seas and glaciers and confirms indications that its South Pole is capped by frozen water. That boosts hopes that big reserves of ice may lie beneath the surface, providing fuel and sustenance for a future manned mission, European Space Agency (ESA) officials said.