Phoenix finds water!

reply to post by SLAYER69


What's so funny about the announcement? Phoenix was sent there to find water. Now they know they're in the right place. The announcement isn't about finding water on Mars. Yes, of course NASA knows there's water there. The important thing is that they landed a probe with all the right scientific equipment to do tests in the right area.

reply to post by nataylor


Well we all knew that! I'm saying the wording in the report just sounded funny after everyone knew what their mission was

Originally posted by SLAYER69
Yup I thought they knew there was ice?

ICE CAP


CLOSE UP

This kind of statement from NASA amazes me

It is thought that the entire visible ice cap is carbon dioxide-ice, NOT water ice. Scientists DO think however that water (possibly even in liquid form) is trapped under that carbon dioxide ice cap.

Scientific data collected from spacecraft orbiting Mars indicates that there is water-ice in the soil surrounding the caps...but the caps themselves are NOT water-ice.

[edit on 6/20/2008 by Soylent Green Is People]

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People


This is precisely why I don't like leaping assumptions without the scientific testing. I know they sent the probe there in the summer time to have the best chance of finding water ice. They already know, as stated several times, that water ice (hydrogen) is below the soil surface, but the whole point of the lander was to actually prove it and determine when and how it was formed.

Given the experimental purpose of the lander it seems premature to announce water ice until they have actually tested it.

reply to post by Shere Khaan

He said the disappearing chunks could not have been carbon-dioxide ice at the local temperatures because that material would not have been stable for even one day as a solid.

www.jpl.nasa.gov...