Posted on 07/30/2008 6:05:04 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
In a discovery that could qualify as one of the most important in the history of space exploration, NASA’s Phoenix Mission may have confirmed the presence of water ice on the planet, Popular Mechanics has learned. The scheduling of a press conference for Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern by NASA and the University of Arizona has raised hopes in the space community that scientists will announce the breakthrough. When pressed for details, a spokesperson for the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory refused to elaborate beyond saying that the Phoenix team would unveil new findings from the ongoing robotic mission to Mars. If the rumor holds true, it would be the first direct confirmation of water ice beyond Earth.
Data from recent missions to Mars has been building toward a confirmation of the presence of water ice. However, “this would be the first time we held it in our hands, so to speak,” says Bryan DeBates, a senior aerospace education specialist at the Space Foundation. Evidence from other locations in the solar system, including Earth’s moon, Saturn’s Enceladus moon and Jupiter’s Europa moon, have strongly hinted at the presence of water—NASA confirmed a liquid lake on Saturn’s Titan moon on Wednesday—but no direct observation of water has been made.
If the presence of water is confirmed on a small patch near the lander, the volume of ice on the Martian surface could be “extraordinary,” says Mary Bourke, a planetary research scientist with the Planetary Science Institute in Tuscon, Ariz. The landing site was chosen because the porosity of the soil appeared to lend itself to a build-up of water ice—and that type of soil is widespread on Mars. The presence of widespread water would make any mission to establish a manned Martian base far more feasible.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
I’ve been told that all red heads come from mars
Can we send Nobama there?
I find it odd that they send up this vehicle to scoop up soil, and process it to determine what it’s contents are, yet the only water discoveries come from watching the changes in the hole they took their sample from, and watching the changes in the soil directly UNDER the lander itself.
Just seems like bad science, or a wasted opportunity. Or both.
It`s possible exhaust from the lander contaminated the soil sample in regards to ice molecules.
Besides, big deal, comets are made of ice and rock too.
Thirty-four years later (add a year or two if I am wrong), and we now know there is water on Mars.
At this rate we can expect to land on land on the moon again by 2075, Mars by 3313. Of course what's the rush, these figures are flexible.
We landed on the Moon eight years after setting the goal. It has been 39 years since we first landed on the moon.
NASA, your idea of amazing advances sure don't match my vision of major advances.
I'm big into the abbreviated names, such as NASA, JPL, you know the big names of space exploration. Say, have you folks heard of FUBAR? It's a great abbreviated name for NASA’s most significant achievement since 1974. This is the current condition of space exploration under NASA.
These little achievements are such a disgusting underwhelming waste of time that it is infuriating to watch NASA toot it's own horn as if we didn't know it's dismal failings.
Please! Someone, anyone pull this plug on these bastards.
Provide outcome based awards to industry giants, that will spur space exploration, and let the folks at NASA go get a real job.
I don't mind defending NASA if it's going to get us into space, but it is G D painful to watch it fail so egregiously.
I thought this was established a few weeks ago. Or maybe I AM A TIME TRAVELER after all.
You are....what’s the Dow doing in October?
The achievements of the NASA unmanned probe programs on a relatively tiny budget are quite remarkable.
What’s unfortunate is the billions of dollars flushed down the toilet on the ISS for basically nothing.
I agree. From what I have read, chemical analysis has not shown anything at all other than dead. Looks like they are looking at pics only to make this declaration. Agree -- bad science if this is truly the case.
Perhaps it's snapped pictures of the flag the astronauts planted...
Common’...meaning what? global warming has increased the sea level? I’ve peed myself with how much I’ve made/lost in the stock market?
Mars......needs.......women.
I’m not going to deny there is truth in that, or that other arguments couldn’t be waged to defend NASA. It’s the frustration talking, and I readily admit it. I wanted to enter space, spend time there before I died.
We landed on the moon in 1969, and haven’t honestly done squat since.
As you have stated, the INTERNATIONAL (if that isn’t a massive pisser right there) SS, was/is a complete waste of funds.
We turned down a super collider in Texas because it was going to cost us around $15 billion, and we have spent what, $60 billion on the space station? $70? $80? $100 billion?
We’re fast losing a way to even get to the space station. Talk about great planning...
Maybe Russia, China, India, Europe, Japan and others will feel sorry for us and help us get up there. I know some of them would have to accelerate their programs, or perhaps even invent them, but that would probably outpace today’s NASA.
The closest thing I have known to the Tower of Babel in my lifetime, has been NASA. It’s almost as if the Lord saw NASA, felt that it was overstepping His plans and confounded it’s management staff.
They heat the samples to a few thousand degrees.
I don’t know about you, but any fossilized life would probably be vaporized from that.
Comets are full of water ice.
Sounds exciting! We’ll have to check the Science Channel to see if they’re carrying the NASA press conference.
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