Mars orbiter detects hidden glaciers on red planet

Vast concealed glaciers that extend for tens of miles along the cliff edges and mountain tops of Mars have been spotted by a space probe as it orbits the red planet.The ice sheets – which are up to half a mile thick – are thought to be the planet's largest reserves of water ice outside the polar caps.The discovery of such large quantities of ice is encouraging for Nasa scientists, whose strategy for hunting extraterrestrial life is to follow signs of water.The US space agency's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter used radar echoes to image gentle slopes at the base of cliffs and mountain ridges that have puzzled scientists since they were first photographed by spacecraft in the 1970s.The radar images show that the features contain large amounts of water ice. "These results are the smoking gun pointing to the presence of large amounts of water ice at these latitudes," said Ali...

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