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Friday, November 5, 2004 More Evidence for Glaciers Tithonium Chasma, looking east. The chasma is part of the Valles Marineris canyon system. Credit: ESA Mars Express's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) has returned 3D images that are at an incredible resolution of 50m and that have revealed important new evidence for glaciers on Mars. The images allow geologists to have a better picture of how the surface evolved over time. "The images are showing us a lot more evidence for recent water activity, and probably recent ice deposits, than I'd previously thought," says John Murray, one of the HRSC team members at Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. Features that are similar to Earth's glacier-formed U-shaped valleys with rubble in them have been found on the Red Planet. The images also show that the canyon floors are covered in a dark, layered material, suggesting past volcanic activity. On a side note, a powerful instrument on the Mars Express, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) that could find water within a few kilometers below the surface, is still inactive. Activating this device would mean that the orbiter would need to turn. Simulations are being done to make sure this is safe for the craft. (More info: Nature) @ 20:41 EST