Phoenix Mars Lander May Have Uncovered Ice

Phoenix Mars Lander May Have Uncovered Ice

www.cjreport.com

A view of the ground underneath NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander adds to evidence that descent thrusters dispersed overlying soil and exposed a harder substrate that may be ice.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Awesome, this just heightens the anticipation to see what the arm can uncover.

"This suggests we have an ice table under a thin layer of loose soil," said the lead scientist for the Robotic Arm Camera, Horst Uwe Keller of Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg- Lindau, Germany.

"We were expecting to find ice within two to six inches of the surface," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, principal investigator for Phoenix. "The thrusters have excavated two to six inches and, sure enough, we see something that looks like ice. It's not impossible that it's something else, but our leading interpretation is ice."

www.cjreport.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Yes, I've been hearing this on the radio all night. Pretty cool! Can'rt wait till they start digging!! Even though I know there was once life on Mars it will be cool if they find (prove) water still exist with the organics/carbon etc...

reply to post by Parabol

Hi Parabol, I saw the ice under the Lander from a photo on the evening news and what I think is strange it is as though someone swept the dirt to one side and also in piles to the right beneath lander. If the retro rockets slowed the Lander down wouldn't the dirt have been scattered more evenly on the ground. Is this the secret space program at work? I am happy they found ice which was expected now lets see if NASA is brave enough to announce that life exists on Mars which would be truly one giant leap for mankind. Rik Riley



[edit on 31-5-2008 by rikriley]

What the photo also shows me is that the Mars soil is apparently not frozen above the ice unless the retro rockets heated the soil that was frozen which I doubt to be the case. Rik Riley