Mars Express spacecraft finds sediment from oceans that once covered red planet's surface

Oceans across north pole of planet
Identified by radar scan of surface from Mars orbiter
'Oceans' fall within boundaries of 'shores' previously seen by space scans
Area covered by oceans twice - last time three billion years ago


Today, Mars's surface is an arid desert - but the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft has returned strong evidence for an ocean once covering part of the red planet's surface.

Using radar, the orbiter has detected sediments reminiscent of an ocean floor within the boundaries of areas previously picked out as ancient shorelines on Mars.

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