Thanks to data from ESA's Mars Express mission, combined with models of the Martian climate, scientists can now suggest how the orbit of Mars around the Sun affects the deposition of water ice at the Martian South Pole.

Every spring brings violent eruptions to the south polar ice cap of Mars, according to researchers interpreting new observations by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.

Watching seasonal changes on the red planet has been fascinating from the vantage point of a unique constellation of orbiting satellites.

PARIS (AFP) -- Mars holds huge reserves of frozen water in its southern pole, according to the first detailed assessment of the data sent back by Europe's Mars Express spacecraft earlier this year.

The north polar cap on Mars has been considered a source of frozen water and carbon dioxide, but the southern cap was thought water-free.