HF dipoles over Mars

Understanding where the water went is considered crucial to knowing whether the Red Planet could once have supported life.

The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (Marsis) consists of two 20m-long (65ft) hollow fibreglass 'dipole' booms to make a primary antenna.

It sends out pulses of HF radio waves from the antenna to the planet's surface and analyses the time delay and strength of the waves that return.

Analysis of the Marsis radar data shows that the deposits at the south pole consist of almost pure water-ice.

See the full BBC story at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6459967.stm

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