THE latest robot explorer to scratch the red planet may have made a bigger splash than first thought. After months of studying pictures beamed back by the Phoenix lander, scientists now say the probe may have found liquid water - the first seen on Mars.

Indeed, Phoenix may have wet itself, touching down on a surface so slushy that it splashed over its landing legs.

Confirming that water exists on the planet has been a major goal for scientists seeking life on the planet.

Phoenix, which touched down near the Martian north pole last May, triggered headlines when its mechanical arm scraped the dust to reveal white patches in the soil.

At first scientists could not rule out that it was salt, but when the patches vanished a few days later they realised they had been looking at ice that had evaporated in the sunlight.

Contact with the solar-powered craft was lost in November. However, Phoenix scientists have only just begun detailed analysis of its findings.

The latest discovery will be officially announced on March 23 when mission scientists deliver a report entitled The Physical And Thermodynamic Evidence Of Liquid Water On Mars at a Houston conference.

The paper states that "here we show … that besides ice, liquid saline water exists in the areas disturbed by the Phoenix lander".

The scientists say: "We hypothesise that liquid saline-water is [currently] common on Mars" and that "this finding has important implications for the … habitability of Mars."

Glenn Nagle, a spokesman for Canberra's Tidbinbilla deep space tracking station, which played a key role in the Phoenix mission, said yesterday the water was first noticed as mysterious "splotches" clinging to the lander's legs.

"The first time we spotted them was on the eighth day of the mission. We were all wondering, 'What are these splotches?' "

Mr Nagle said it was probably thrown up by the landing rockets. "Imagine putting a leaf blower on snow, blowing the slushy ice aside," he said. "Some of that stuck to the legs."

The Phoenix scientists, said Mr Nagle, feel they have strong evidence for salty, briny water. "The implication is there is a possibility of it existing right across Mars.

"Earth's salty waters," he added, "are places where we find abundant life. If Phoenix has found the same conditions exist on Mars, then it's a step forward in the story for possible life-supporting conditions on Mars."