Mars too dry for life Researchers deduced that there had been water present during a warmer period lasting up to 5,000 years in the distant past, but this would have been too little time for life to establish itself on the surface. The sample was taken from Mars's icy northern arctic region, but separate studies have shown the entire planet is covered with the same type of soil. Dr Tom Pike, who led the research, said: "We found that even though there is an abundance of ice, Mars has been experiencing a super-drought that may well have lasted hundreds of millions of years. We think the Mars we know today contrasts sharply with its earlier history, which had warmer and wetter periods and which may have been more suited to life. Future NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) missions that are planned for Mars will have to dig deeper to search for evidence of life, which may still be taking refuge underground.