Re: We have water

On 1 Aug, 09:11, Féachadóir <Féach@d.óir> wrote:

So would I be right in assuming that in having ice and energy (from
the sun) mars has the ingredients we think are necessary for life? If
we found life on Mars would this then imply that life is common
wherever water, a source of energy and adequate time and carbon is
available?

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0731/mars.html

NASA scientists have said they had definitive proof that water exists
on Mars after further tests on ice found on the planet in June by the
Phoenix Mars Lander.

'We have water,' said William Boynton, lead scientist for the Thermal
and Evolved-Gas Analyzer instrument on Phoenix.

'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,' he said, referring to the craft's instruments.

NASA has also extended the mission of the Phoenix Mars Lander by five
weeks, saying its work was moving beyond the search for water to
exploring whether the red planet was ever capable of sustaining life.

'We are extending the mission through 30 September,' Michael Meyer,
chief scientist for NASA's Mars exploration program, told a televised
news conference.

The extension will add about €1.3m to the €269m cost of landing
Phoenix on 25 May for what was a scheduled three-month mission, Mr
Meyer said.

Phoenix is the latest NASA bid to discover whether water ever flowed
on Mars and whether life, even in the form of mere microbes, exists or
ever existed there.

Phoenix touched down in May on an ice *** and samples of the ice
were seen melting away in photographs taken by the lander's
instruments in June.

Mr Boynton said that water was positively identified after the
lander's robotic arm delivered a soil sample yesterday to an
instrument that identifies vapours produced by heating.

Mission scientists said in June that Martian soil was more alkaline
than expected and had traces of magnesium, sodium, potassium and other
elements. They described the findings as a huge step forward.

Mr Meyer said the scientific proof of the existence of water meant
that Phoenix could move from looking for water to seeing whether there
were habitats for life.

'We are moving towards understanding whether there were or could be
places on Mars that are habitable,' Mr Meyer said.

--
'Donegal:  Up Here It's Different'
© Féachadóir


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