On Mars, there is more than one type of ice...

In addition to frozen water, there's also dry ice -- frozen carbon dioxide -- which shapes and reshapes the Martian landscape. Images (from left):

blocks of icy debris, warmed by the sun, tumble down cliffs of the northern ice cap; 

swirling dust devils leave tracks on defrosting dune surfaces in the south; 

as polar ice recedes, the surface erodes in scalloped ridges;

during spring in the north, sand dunes emerge from the blanket of frost;

starburst patterns are created as ice warms into gas and expands, creating channels spreading out radially;

when the gas breaks through the ice, it creates plumes and material is carried downwind.

-- NYT

At Edge, Rodney Brooks speculates on Life (or not) on Mars. Speaking for myself, I would rather it stayed quiet and beautiful there for at least a while longer.

P.S. 15 Jan: NASA says there could be bugs in the rocks.