Mars Express spots ancient ocean clues in Utopia Planitia

European Space Agency’s Mars Express has captured high‑resolution images of Utopia Planitia showing dark, ancient volcanic ash spreading across the northern Martian plain. The new views—comparing with 1970s Viking data—suggest Mars’ surface features can change over decades, possibly due to wind redistributing ash or exposing underlying material. The imagery also highlights subsurface ice and ice-rich permafrost beneath the plains, along with tectonic features like grabens and scalloped depressions that trace Mars’ dynamic geology and the past presence of a large body of water in this region billions of years ago.