Mars: Water? Probably; Life? Eventually

Mars is in the news again:

• "Pictures prove Mars was once wet"
  The Australian (July 16, 2008)
  • This article includes "...Stunning images captured by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera aboard the European Space Agency's Mars Express show the cliffs, valleys and plateaus of Echus Chasma, thought to have been one of the largest water-source regions on Mars...."
• "NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Rasps Frozen Layer, Collects Sample"
  Phoenix Mars Mission (July 16, 2008)
  • "July 16, 2008 -- A powered rasp on the back of the robotic arm scoop of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander successfully drilled into the frozen soil and loosened material that was collected in the lander's scoop.
  • "Images and data sent from Phoenix early Wednesday indicated the shaved material in the scoop had changed slightly over time during the hours after it was collected...."
• "Mineral maps show widespread water on early Mars"
  NewScientistSpace (July 16, 2008)
• "Early Mars Was All Wet"
  Space.com (July 16, 2008)
• "Mars Lander Successfully Collects Ice Sample"
  Space.com (July 16, 2008)

It's a little early to say that the soil scraped up has ice in it. The stuff looks like ice, and acts like ice. But it might be something else. We'll know more, when a sample gets processed by Phoenix's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer. That's a sort of high-tech oven that bakes samples and analyzes what evaporates, telling researchers what the sample was made of.

I think the odds are pretty good that there's frozen water on Mars. Another big question, is there life on Mars, hasn't been answered.

The little green men of science fiction aren't there, or we'd have been seeing "Earthling Go Home" signs by now. But small organisms living inside rocks or other sheltered spots are still a possibility.

Eventually, unless things change drastically, there will be life on Mars: people; human beings; us.

We're living in exciting times.

Other posts, about "Mars, Mostly."

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Related posts, at

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