Water found on Mars

Water has been found on Mars for the first time, scientists claimed today.

The European Space Agency revealed that Mars Express, which is orbiting the red planet, spotted water at the Martian south pole.

Scientists today described it as a "eureka moment" and claimed the discovery means it is likely Mars may have once harboured life. "We have been tracking it on the south pole and there we have detected water," mission scientist Jean-Pierre Bibring revealed.

The breakthrough puts the Europeans ahead in the great "Mars race" despite intense competition from the Americans. The discovery was made by an instrument known as a spectrometer on board Mars Express.

High resolution pictures taken by a camera on the craft also show vast canyons created by water channels and sediment left by water in the past. "Yes, we can firmly say we have seen ice on the surface of Mars," said Mr Bibring, who added: "But this is really instant science ... we have a lot more work to do to work out exactly what this means."

The discovery was greeted with cheers at the European Space Agency's mission control centre at Darmstadt in Germany.

Britain's Beagle 2 was due to land on Mars on Christmas Day to search for signs of life but has not been heard of. Professor Colin Pillinger, Beagle 2's lead scientist said: "It is great that they have found water, but that is not the same as finding life. Water is needed for life, but just because we now know there is water on Mars, which we always suspected anyway, does not mean we will find life.

"I think the mission has an exciting time in front of it though, and we are all very excited."

In the past, scientists have speculated that any life found on Mars was likely to be simple organisms.

"I consider life as being any kind of organism that can reproduce itself," said Professor Pillinger.

"We are not expecting to see little green men."

It is believed the first life on Mars could be similar in complexity to amoebas, one of the simplest lifeforms on Earth.

One theory suggests that millions of years ago Mars and Earth could have been inhabited with the same basic organisms.

More than 40 years of Mars exploration had until now yielded inconclusive evidence of whether water was present on the planet.

The European Spac e Agency's Mars Express orbiter is part of Europe's first mission to Mars.

Two US orbiters, Mars Global Surveyor and the 2001 Mars Odyssey, have also been circling the planet searching for indications of water in the Martian past.

In October, a team of scientists reported Odyssey had detected on the surface of Mars copious amounts of a mineral that is easily weathered away in the presence of water.

Weeks later, a second team reported evidence to the contrary after Global Surveyor beamed back images that show features apparently created by the meandering flow of rivers.