'Thar's Ice in Them Thar Plains!' - Maybe

The Phoenix Mars Lander took a look where its landing thrusters blew loose surface material away. What's underneath looks like ice. Or, it could be rock. Phoenix will run tests to find out which.

I live in Minnesota, so ice isn't much of a novelty to me. On Mars, it's an exciting find.

• Science - ice, and what's in it will help answer very interesting questions:
  • Was (or is) there life on Mars?
  • What's the Martian climate been like?
  • What's the geology (aerieology?) of Mars like? How does it work?
• Exploration and (maybe) settlement:
  • Water figures into practically everything we do. In fact, it's just as important as oxygen: which Mars has in abundance, chemically bonded to carbon in its atmosphere.
  • Water, in the form of ice, means one less item that needs to shipped from Earth, when or if humanity goes to Mars

More at "Phoenix Mars Lander / Mission Overview."

And, on the lighter side, the Phoenix Mars Lander 'stepped' on the Martian surface, leaving a mark that reminds me of those novelty hotrod accelerator pedals.


(from NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona, used w/o permission)
"This view from the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander shows the first impression -- dubbed Yeti and shaped like a wide footprint -- made on the Martian soil by the robotic arm scoop on Sol 6, the sixth Martian day of the mission, (May 31, 2008). Touching the ground is the first step toward scooping up soil and ice and delivering the samples to the lander's onboard experiments.

"The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

"Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona"


(from NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona, used w/o permission)
"This image captured by the Robotic Arm Camera aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Sol 6, the sixth Martian day of the mission, (May 31, 2008) shows a close-up of the "Snow Queen" feature under the lander.

"Swept clear of surface dust by the thruster rockets as Phoenix landed, the area has a smooth surface with layers visible and several smooth, rounded cavities.

"The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

"Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute"

---

Related posts, at

• "A Serious Search for Other Worlds, Life, and - Maybe - Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence"