Water on Mars

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended

July 31, 2008 Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."

With enticing results so far and the spacecraft in good shape, NASA also announced operational funding for the mission will extend through Sept. 30. The original prime mission of three months ends in late August. The mission extension adds five weeks to the 90 days of the prime mission.

"Phoenix is healthy and the projections for solar power look good, so we want to take full advantage of having this resource in one of the most interesting locations on Mars," said Michael Meyer, chief scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

with mars having polar ice caps and the southern one melting at an alarming rate, according to nasa, one would assume that they knew there was water is on mars for quite sometime...........

August 7, 2003: It's not every day you get to watch a planetary ice cap vanish, but this month you can. All you need are clear skies, a backyard telescope, and a sky map leading to Mars.
Actually, you won't need the sky map because Mars is so bright and easy to find.
Just look south between midnight and dawn on any clear night this month. Mars is that eye-catching red star, outshining everything around it. It's getting brighter every night as Earth and Mars converge for a close encounter on August 27th.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2..._southpole.htm




Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says
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Climate change hits Mars

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Here is a photo of Mars taken through a 4" refractor in Vancouver.

[quote=Stretch;973512]August 7, 2003: It's not every day you get to watch a planetary ice cap vanish, but this month you can. All you need are clear skies, a backyard telescope, and a sky map leading to Mars.
Actually, you won't need the sky map because Mars is so bright and easy to find.
Just look south between midnight and dawn on any clear night this month. Mars is that eye-catching red star, outshining everything around it. It's getting brighter every night as Earth and Mars converge for a close encounter on August 27th.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/07aug_southpole.htm

[unquote]

Agreed Mars was bright five years ago but it is not right now. You might be able to find it very early in the morning if you can find it at all.

Wow ... global warming's even affected Mars? Who'da thunk Marvin's SUV could spew all that stuff into the sky?

Even in the closeup photo, I don't see any people wandering around on Mars. lol So much for EAnassir's "where there is water, there is life" hypothesis. lol
Thanks, ITN.