Space probe finds ice boulders on Titan

This is reportedly one of the first images returned by the ESA Huygens probe during its successful descent to the surface of Saturn's moon, Titan. PHOTO: AFP

The first three photos of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, beamed back on Friday afternoon, showed what appeared to be boulders of ice, drainage channels, shorelines and islands, reminding scientists of both Earth and Mars.

"I think none of us would have expected ... this kind of unveiling, but it is pretty consistent with the surprises we've seen before," said Al Diaz, Nasa's associate administrator for science.

The $3 billion Cassini-Huygens mission, a joint project of Nasa and the European and Italian space agencies, was launched in 1997 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to study Saturn, its rings, moons and magnetosphere.