Mars: huge underground lake raises prospects of life on planet, astronomers say

Scientists have spotted a 12 mile-wide stretch of water underneath a slab of ice at the Martian south pole

Astronomers have found compelling evidence that there is a huge reservoir of liquid water buried a mile under the ice near the south pole on Mars.

Radar measurements taken from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter spotted the 12-mile-wide stretch of water at the base of a thick slab of polar ice in a region known as Planum Australe.