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Thursday, July 31, 2008 --- 123 days ago http://dvice.com/archives/2008/07/breaking_water.php
 The University of Tuscon, Arizona and NASA's intrepid geological robot on Mars, the Phoenix lander , finally sent back the message the science community has been waiting with bated breath to hear after 62 Martian days: there is, without a doubt, water ice on Mars. Principal Phoenix Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Tuscon announced today that "we landed right on top of water ice and the thrusters spread the soil away and revealed ice right underneath our lander — this was unexpected." Phoenix co-investigator William Boynton, also of the University of Tuscon, elaborated on the gathered water ice sample: "We've now finally touched it and tasted it. That is one thing that hasn't been done before. And I'd like to say, at least from my standpoint, it tastes very fine." This historic moment marks the first time that we have directly observed a source of water other than what we've got here on Earth. While we have observed the presence of ice-like deposits on comets and on moons of other planets, the Phoenix's samples will be the first to be analyzed, ever. Analyzing samples from Mars may help us understand how water ends up on planetary bodies (from, say, asteroidal ice upon impact or does it occur locally), and give us clues as to where it can be found next. Tomorrow's headline: Little green men caught using shavings from the Phoenix lander's dig site as ice cubes! ... |
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