Photo: Liquid Water Recently Seen on Mars?

National Geographic ^ | 2/19/09

[LibWhacker]

Liquid droplets seem to form and move on the leg of the Phoenix Mars lander, as seen in images taken on days 8, 31, and 44 (seen above from left to right) of the craft's mission.

Scientists think the water could stay liquid even in the frigid Martian arctic because of its high concentration of perchlorates, salts that acts like antifreeze.

Images courtesy Image NASA/JPL-Caltech//University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute

[evets]

[oldbill]

I suppose that’s a 4000 foot lomg anaconda?

[SandWMan]

OOH!, Then life MUST have evolved on Mars too, right????

[evets]

Ha ha. Snake story here.

[Dead Corpse]

so now we've gotta worry about putting mudflaps on the next ATV we send up there?

Cool...

[WakeUpAndVote]

[Steve Van Doorn]

unless something is melting the ice there is no way we would find liquid water on mars.

[MaxMax]

[GeronL]

Next on Discovery Channel, Mike Rowe goes Muddin on Mars!!

[fieldmarshaldj]

Martian takes leak on Mars Lander, film at 11.

[SunkenCiv]

Scientists think the water could stay liquid even in the frigid Martian arctic because of its high concentration of perchlorates

I love happy hour, don't you?

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[BenLurkin]

Wow......if it’s so contaminated that it won’t freeze, is it really stil “water”?

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[AndrewC]

Wow......if it’s so contaminated that it won’t freeze, is it really stil “water”?

And water that contains an oxidizer...

Toxin in soil may mean no life on Mars

From Miles O'Brien and Kate Tobin
CNN

(CNN) -- NASA's Phoenix lander has discovered a toxic chemical in soil near Mars' north pole, dimming hopes for finding life on the Red Planet, the probe's operators said Monday.

The chemical, perchlorate, is an oxidant widely used in solid rocket fuel. Researchers are still puzzling over the results and checking to make sure the perchlorate wasn't carried to Mars from Earth, the University of Arizona-based science team said.

[ForGod'sSake]

After some computer "enhancement" of one of the drops...

[SunkenCiv]

Since there’s a budding drive to ban perchlorate in rockets (IOW, a Luddite / Socialist drive to end US spaceflight), this story about the precipitate will probably be fodder at some point (soon), and this “make sure the perchlorate wasn’t carried to Mars” sounds like the beginning of it.

[dfwgator]

Liquid Water

Is there any other kind?

[LibWhacker]

Yes, like all substances, water can exist in three different states: liquid, solid and gas (for water, those states are commonly called, liquid water, ice and steam).

[grey_whiskers]

If you have enough perchlorates, good luck getting anything organic started there.

Cheers!