"We have found evidence consistent with a presently existing frozen body of water, with surface pack-ice," the scientists write in a paper that is scheduled to be published in March in the journal Nature.
The journal's contents are normally not released prior to publication. The research was first reported on by New Scientist magazine, which says the paper was not under embargo when first viewed by the magazine. SPACE.com has reviewed the paper.
The research was discussed yesterday at a scientific meeting in Europe.
The fact that there have been warm and wet places beneath the surface of Mars since before life began on Earth, and that some are probably still there, means that there is a possibility that primitive micro-organisms survive on Mars today," study co-leader John Murray at the Open University in the UK said in today's statement. "This mission has changed many of my long-held opinions about Mars we now have to go there and check it out."
The ice exists in a block that resemble polar ice on Earth, according to the research team. It measures about 497 by 559 miles (800 by 900 kilometers) and averages up to 150 feet (45 meters) deep.
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