Phoenix on Mars

[Sdiver]

Here are some incredible shots, of the Phoenix lander on Mars.

This first shot is taken from the Mars Observer orbiting above the planet.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080530.html


This next one, is of some white material UNDER the lander. It could possibly be ice, uncovered as the lander's rockets were firing, as the lander made touchdown.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080602.html


This last picture, IMO, shows indisputable proof, of water on Mars.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050401.html

[Pete S]

Originally Posted by Sdiver

This last picture, IMO, shows indisputable proof, of water on Mars.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050401.html

It could possibly. I think funds need to be allocated to a research group to verify the validity of the possibility.

[Philkilla]

Those are some great shots.

No one can deny now that there is water on mars.

[Sdiver]

Here is some computer animation, of the lander coming in and touching down on Mars, and then unfolding it's solar panels and "going to work".

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080525.html

[grog18b]

The color camera cost 20 bucks more... Liberal NASA funding cuts...

[Red Flag 1]

Sdiver,

Thanks for the pics. Loved the animation. Looks like a nice sunny day on Mars; and yes, the question of water on Mars has finally been answered!! LMAO.

RF 1

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

Wow, I bet if in the 1960s you had said to the NASA guys, "You know, come the 21st century, you'll be using black and white cameras on your space probes," they'd have laughed.

I'm a bit confused on this water thing though, are you guys joking, or is there really water on Mars? Doesn't Mars have polar ice caps?

1. B/W pictures. As I understand it, the air (what little there is and it's composition) does not make for a "True Color" picture. Those that you see have been "fixed". Also B/W take less time to send. We'll be seeing more color pics as the days go by.

2. It's clear you didn't click on the last link in the original post.

[Philkilla]

Originally Posted by Broadsword2004

I'm a bit confused on this water thing though, are you guys joking, or is there really water on Mars? Doesn't Mars have polar ice caps?

There is definitely some water on Mars.

[nmap]

Mars Image

Speaking of water on Mars...the above image shows traces of white. Ice, perhaps? It would be an exciting discovery, were that the case.

[Ambush Master]

Originally Posted by nmap

Mars Image

Speaking of water on Mars...the above image shows traces of white. Ice, perhaps? It would be an exciting discovery, were that the case.

It may just be "Dry Ice". The atmosphere is made up of mostly CO2 and from what I've heard, in a few months the Phoenix will be under about 3 feet of liquid/solid CO2 during the "Winter Season" !!!!

Take care.
Martin

[nmap]

It looks as if it really was water ice on Mars...

First some great photos: LINK

Now the announcement about ice: LINK

[Blakeslee]

Life on Mars?

http://inessential.com/images/martian.jpg

[Sdiver]

It's confirmed....there is Water on Mars.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...=moreheadlines

Existence Of Water On Mars Confirmed

By David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 1, 2008; Page A02




After years of proposing, theorizing and deducing that there is water on Mars -- at least in the form of ice -- NASA scientists said yesterday they have finally confirmed it, after the Phoenix lander detected traces of water vapor wafting off a scoop of Martian dirt, researchers said yesterday.

"It's something we've been waiting quite a while for," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, describing how an tiny "oven" on the lander heated the dirt until ice mixed with it evaporated. "We've now finally touched it and tasted it."

Earlier Mars expeditions had indicated that at least in the past, water existed on the planet -- a key issue for scientists, since on Earth, liquid water is a prerequisite for life. In the 1970s, photos seemed to show channels on the Red Planet's surface, a possible indication that water had flowed there before the atmosphere cooled.

In 2002, observations by an orbiting probe found evidence of vast amounts of water locked up in ice below the surface. Then, after the Phoenix Mars Lander touched down May 25, researchers said it had provided solid evidence of water.

But that was a deduction: The lander's camera showed a group of small chunks, and then it didn't. Researchers concluded that it was ice that had evaporated.

Yesterday, they said they had proof. The probe, which includes implements for scooping and gouging the Martian surface, had cooked a dirt sample in a special oven, and the scientists noted that a bit of the sample evaporated around the usual freezing point of water.

"The fact that it melted at zero degrees Celsius leaves very little doubt that it is standard water ice," Boynton said. He said sensors also tested the chemical makeup of the vapor and found the familiar combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

"There were champagne corks popping in the downlink room," Boynton said. In keeping with the mission's whimsical touches -- scientists have named trenches scraped by the probe "Dodo-Goldilocks" and "Snow White" -- Boynton put on a witch's hat at the news conference yesterday at the University of Arizona, joking that the water had melted just like the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz."

Also yesterday, NASA announced that the Phoenix mission, originally planned to finish in late August, would be extended through the end of September. That extension will cost about $2 million, a NASA official said.

Here's a couple of photos compared side by side of some type of ice, disappearing from one of the trenches that the lander made.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080621.html