[News] Water 'flowed recently' on Mars

[fleshy]

God that sounds nice. Oh well in a couple weeks Ill be in florida for three weeks so Ill get my kicks in then.

[trux]

OK, Phoenix has just succesfully touched down! Congratulations to all people working on the project. Looking forward for the first photos and data.

[trux]

Solar panels are deployed and all health checks are perfect. This is one of the first photos:

230118main_false_color_postcard.jpg

(unfortunately no details of the wrecks from Pastor's photo, but if you have good eyes, you can see some of them close to the horizon )

Note the rectangular or polygonal blocks - they are supposed to be blocks of ice covered by dust. I hope there is enough fish frozen in them for supplying the future human expedition

More photos at NASA - Phoenix

[trux]

You probably already heard that despite divers problems, the Phoenix Mars lander finally managed to prove the existence of water (ice) in Mars soil (better told in the 'regolith'). Well, there was already before sufficient evidence available for both present ice, and even past flowing water, but this was the first time water was touched and sensed. See for example here for more details: "We Have Water" on Mars, TEGA Test Confirms | Universe Today

However, now it looks like NASA may have some important information about the presence of life on Mars. Let's hope it won't stay behind the locks for too long time as it already happened in the past - for example in 1996 with the announcement regarding the “Mars rock” - ALH84001 - when AAAS/Science magazine tried to keep it all under embargo, or in 1976 at the Viking lander, where possible signs of life were precipitately blamed on contamination from Earth (SPACE.com -- Scientists Say Mars Viking Mission Found Life)

More details about the current expected announcement here: The White House is Briefed: Phoenix About to Announce "Potential For Life" on Mars | Universe Today
or here: LiveScience.com Blogs » Blog Archive » Phoenix on Mars Life - Message From MECA

[trux]

OK, so today NASA denied finding any signs of life, and in contrary reported discovering traces of perchlorate that is toxic and might mean an environment rahter hostile to life. On the other hand perchlorate is used in rocket fuel, so the measuring devices might have been contaminated (though they wrote they excluded this possibility).

More details here: Conflicting Results from Phoenix Science Instruments Prompts Further Study | Universe Today
SPACE.com -- NASA Scientist: Reports of Mars Life Finding Are 'Bogus'
SPACE.com -- New Data Suggest Mars Soil Not As Life-Friendly As Thought