While Mars Express maps water ice to a depth of a few kilometres, a view of near-surface water is provided by Mars orbiter TGO. This orbiter is carrying the FREND instrument, which is mapping hydrogen – an indicator of water ice – in the topmost metre of martian soil. FREND spotted a hydrogen-rich area the size of the Netherlands within Mars’s Valles Marineris in 2021, and is currently mapping how shallow water deposits are distributed across the Red Planet.

“Together, our Mars explorers are revealing more and more about our planetary neighbour,” adds Colin.

Notes for editors

MARSIS is Mars Express’s Radar for Sub-surface and Ionospheric Sounding. More information on MARSIS and the orbiter’s other instruments can be found via ESA’s Mars Express pages:

esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express/Mars_Express_orbiter_instruments

For more information, please contact:

ESA Media Relations

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