Scientists discover enough ice on Mars to cover it in water

New data from the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter suggests a massive deposit called the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) holds enough water ice to cover the entire planet in an ocean that's anywhere from five to 8.8 feet deep—if it were somehow melted, that is, Futurism reported.

Scientists had previously held that there was still a chance the deposit was largely made of volcanic ash. But given the latest findings, it's far more likely to be made of water ice, especially given its geographical features that resemble those found at the planet's polar ice caps.

"Dry material, no matter what it is, just doesn’t fit," Smithsonian Institution senior scientist Tom Watters, the lead author of a new paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, told New Scientist of the research. "We just can’t come up with another material other than water ice that fits the electrical properties, that also has this layering that we’re finding."

It's a particularly exciting new discovery as it represents the largest deposit of water ice found near the Red Planet's equator, making it an exciting potential location for future explorers to visit.