The robot is powered entirely by solar energy, so it can operate in pristine polar environments without adding to air pollution.

ENGADGET: NASA's GROVER eco-rover to examine Greenland's ice sheet (video)

The forecasters added that the colder than average conditions had been caused by frequent easterly and northerly winds, bringing cold air to the UK from polar and northern European regions.

BBC: Spring will be coldest in 50 years, Met Office says

The reason for the excitement is that, although the existence of ice on Mars has been known since 1666, when the planet's polar caps were first seen, the low temperatures and air pressure there mean that water, even if heavily salted, is likely either to freeze or to evaporate.

ECONOMIST: Water on Mars

France has commissions for noise, for the air, for water, for cold, for the polar regions, for rubbish and more.

ECONOMIST: France's government

Gripping the ice with his sharp claws, the polar bear leaned over the edge of the ice, sniffing the air and taking in the foreign scent of the 50 sweaty, sunburnt tourists, expedition leaders and crew.

BBC: Life in the fragile, frozen Arctic