- WHY IT MATTERS: Joshua Bandfield of Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration says NASA's Phoenix mission will help in its search for water on Mars.
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NASA/JPL/Arizona State University The water cycle on Mars is quite active, scientists say.Using thermal emission observations from NASA's Odyssey spacecraft, scientists have mapped seasonal changes in the temperature of the Martian surface to locate the planet's ice water. The findings, which were reported in the journal Nature, indicate that the depth of the water ice table varies greatly over small-scale patches on the Red Planet.
Scientists say the findings show how the water cycle is working on Mars, and that the cycle is probably quite active today.
