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Mars probe appears to have landed atop ice


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"Elated scientists probing the arctic surface of Mars with their newly landed Phoenix spacecraft said Saturday they are convinced they have found a bright and shiny layer of genuine ice only inches beneath the Martian soil and directly under the body of the lander itself.

"It's the consensus of all of us that we have found ice," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, as he talked to reporters in a conference call only six days after Phoenix landed safely from Earth. "It's shiny and smooth - it's absolutely astounding!"

But Smith did add a note of scientific caution: "It's not impossible that it's something else," he conceded, "but our leading interpretation is ice. We are looking at an extended table of ice."

And it turns out that Phoenix itself made the epochal discovery, for it was the exhaust from the lander's twelve retrorockets - firing during the last few seconds of the spacecraft's touchdown last Sunday - that blew a mere 3 to 6 inches of Martian topsoil away and uncovered the patch of ice near one of the lander's three legs. The camera on the lander's robotic arm snapped images of the flat, gleaming slab.

Spacecraft flying in orbit high above the planet carry sensitive radar instruments that can probe as much as a yard or so beneath the Martian surface, and their signals have already indicated a broad layer of what Earth-bound scientists believe is buried ice in the planet's frigid far northern region where Phoenix was sent to explore".

By David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor
VirgilEnigma

37 responses // Mars probe appears to have landed atop ice

  • They've been speculating about this for ages. Does this mean that now 'Terra Forming' the planet is a real possibility?

    http://science.howstuffworks.com/terraforming1.htm
    Jimmy_Underdog
  • That's awesome, they didn't mention if it was water or co2 ice, did they detect anything interesting in the ice yet?
    Enjoy_Cannabis
  • Yay, there is ice on Earth. And a lot of ice in space. It's cold.
    75thDeadMan
  • Did it bring a blender and some tequila by chance?
    eldamon
  • This is incredible, a very exciting discovery.
    Svetovymir
  • I'm sure this is all very scientifically significant, but I'm shallow. I just like the imagery.

    Space photography is my secret joy.
    Chagrin
  • wooo thats awesome!! and weird..!
    Fii
    • Fii
    • 3 months ago
  • Wow. We actually found ice on mars before we found Osama Bin Laden. Maybe we should send Bush to Mars and NASA to Afghanistan.
    marcozarco
    1 response to this
  • Well get some of that ice and lets make some margaritas!!
    BetterWatching
  • haha..!
    Fii
    • Fii
    • 3 months ago
  • Its Funny that it may be possible that our planet will end up as dead as mars with nothing left put specks of frozen ice.
    VirgilEnigma
    1 response to this
  • watch this comment being used here, here, here, here, here and here
    this is great. Yeah ICE!!!!!! They haven't had a chance to examine it yet. Terra forming could well be the next thing going. We are always looking for a way off this planet. Do not get me wrong. If someone came to me and said "Would you like to go to Mars?". I would be on that spaceship before they could finish the sentence.

    BIG SMILE
    chris50
    1 response to this
  • What if they drill down and find that after 10 meters there is water, that's what I want.

    No one's going to be happy until we find intelligent life, but for now, ice will have to do...
    phillyharper
  • As long as it serves to crush the "life is earthbound" theroy. Too many minds are still chained to the dark ages... please!!! whatever it cost too free thier minds.
    1779fleet
  • This is poor timing for our country to be spending money on aeronautics.
    SuncatcherEyes
    3 responses to this
  • They have snowcones on Mars!
    joshuaheller
  • Good to know.

    Millions are starving world wide, millions are being killed dirctly or indirectly by oppressive regimes, but hey, we found ice on Mars. Margaritas on Mars! Snowcones on Mars!

    Lets terraform and move the problems of Earth to Mars.
    cwc_agent
  • Humm, I don't think that's ice. There's a big circle spot right at the bottom of the picture just like the one that looks like ice and that looks like plain soil to me... maybe the light is making it look like ice.
    current_nando
  • Mars to Ground Control: Can someone please make sure the Phoenix isn't leaking fluid somewhere?
    TyMarshal
  • That'll be cool.
    current_nando
  • This is quite the discovery. What its true implications mean are still to be found out, but it definitely changes a lot of the ways we might approach interplanetary settlements. Too bad most of us won't be around to see what really comes of all these discoveries.
    sagewho
  • http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc94/Overlord1317/qu...
    I'm having "total recall!" I must have already been there! "Quaid, Quaaaid... start the reactor..."
    Hawkmang
    1 response to this
  • I agree...margaritas all around! One more step for mankind. I love the pictures..Amazing they are being transmitted from so far and are so clear.
    cibalin
  • Without fail every time the work of NASA generates discussion on current, ecofreaks and humanitarians always cry that those efforts are misplaced. Truthfully the amount of money spent on US foreign aid is overwhelmingly higher than NASA has EVER received. The real problem is that contributions are largely spent on political and military pursuits and not humanitarian endeavors. If you broke down our foreign aid policy based on their various interests then yes we do spend more money on NASA than on food and economic aid.

    This is not NASA’s fault. Our leaders and the people who vote them into office are to blame for not allocating the necessary funds toward helping the world. Taking money from NASA to spend on humanitarian aid makes no sense because even if you did shut down the space program and the wealth of other organizations which sprouted from it you still would not have the appropriate funds to handle your needs. NASA has an annual budget of 17 billon a year. That’s 6/10’s of a penny from every federal dollar collected. Again that is nothing compared to what we spend on foreign aid.

    We should rethink our foreign aid policy. More money should be spent on food and medicine. However what we really need to do is help fledging nations develop their own means to feed and care for themselves(give a man a fish/teach a man to fish. You get what I’m saying?) We live in a capitalistic society. That’s why we spend more on military and political aid then on feeding the needy. I do think this is wrong, if we spent more on people than governments those institutions would be strengthened and would in turn promote exactly what we wanted in the first place.

    This is why I think NASA is near perfect. Not only does the government get a sevenfold return on their investment the people of this world reap countless benefits from the their actions. If you don’t understand why NASA is good for us then you are being ignorant. You should do your homework before you pass judgment. It’s sad when people ask for a better world yet denounce the very agency which is not only helping to realize this but expanding on our understanding on what we need to do TO help the world.
    Ricky84
    4 responses to this
  • How hot would the exhausts be. If the soils mainly sand or something similar hot temperatures can make glass. Could be wrong.
    Uelthomas
  • The propellant of the Retro-rockets may not use a conventional flame system. It could just be a Solid Fuel design that expels a gas rather than a flame.
    amitubal

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