The region was named by Eugene Antoniadi, who noted the distinct albedo feature of the Northern plains in his book La Planète Mars (1930).

[5] Although it is not an officially recognized feature, the North Polar Basin makes up most of the lowlands in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars.

Some scientists have speculated the plains were covered by a hypothetical ocean at some point in Mars' history and putative shorelines have been suggested for its southern edges.

Today these mildly sloping plains are marked by ridges, low hills, and sparse cratering.

In 2005 the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft imaged a substantial quantity of water ice in a crater in the Vastitas Borealis region.

It was revealed after overlaying frozen carbon dioxide sublimated away at the commencement of the Northern Hemisphere Summer and is believed to be stable throughout the Martian year.

[9] The probe, which was stationary, collected and analyzed soil samples in an effort to detect water and determine how hospitable the planet might once have been for life to grow.

[13] Results published in the journal Science after the Phoenix mission ended reported that chloride, bicarbonate, magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, and possibly sulfate were detected in the samples.

Under certain conditions perchlorate can inhibit life; however some microorganisms obtain energy from the substance (by anaerobic reduction).

The chemical when mixed with water can greatly lower freezing points, in a manner similar to how salt is applied to roads to melt ice.

[14] Gullies, which are common in certain areas of Mars, may have formed from perchlorate melting ice and causing water to erode soil on steep slopes.

When a sample was slowly heated in the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA), a peak occurred at 725 °C, which is what would happen if calcium carbonate were present.

Antarctica's polygons are formed by repeated expansion and contraction of the soil-ice mixture due to seasonal temperature changes.

[20] In March 2010, scientists released the results of a radar study of an area called Deuteronilus Mensae that found widespread evidence of ice lying beneath a few meters of rock debris.

As per the peer-reviewed data the presence of water ice has been confirmed and that the site had a wetter and warmer climate in the recent past.

Finding calcium carbonate in the Martian soil leads scientists to believe that the site had been wet or damp in the geological past.