Mars

NASA's Viking missions first spotted this "crustal dichotomy" in the 1970s. Twenty years later the Mars Global Surveyor mission showed that the planet’s crust was up to 30 times thicker in the south than in the north. It also detected magnetic anomalies present only in the southern hemisphere.

The release of the pictures taken four sols (Martian days) apart, confirms the speculation that the white shiny substance uncovered by the Phoenix Lander was indeed water ice.

"It is with great pride and a lot of joy that I announce today that we have found proof that this hard bright material is really water ice and not some other substance," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona.

The Jules Verne Automatic Transfer Vehicle (ATV) has successfully boosted the International Space Station (ISS) into a higher orbit. In a record 20-minute burn, the 330-ton ISS was boosted by around 4.5 miles to an altitude of around 215 miles.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) ATV performed a similar manoeuvre on 25-Apr. Speaking at the ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France, Hervé Côme, ESA’s ATV Mission Director said, “Today, Jules Verne ATV has again successfully demonstrated that it is able to perform this vital function on regular basis.” Another reboost is planned in July, with two more in August.