Phoenix detects ice on Mars
Posted: Fri, Jun 20, 2008, 6:00 AM ET (1000 GMT)
A light-colored material uncovered by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander when it dug a trench into the Martian surface appears to be water ice, scientists said Thursday. The bright material, in chunks about the size of dice, was uncovered when the lander dug a trench on Sunday. By Thursday those chunks had disappeared, leading scientists to conclude that they were made of water ice that sublimated after being exposed to sunlight. When the material was first spotted early in the mission, scientists could not immediately determine if the material was ice or a salt; the fact that the chunks disappeared indicated that they must be ice.
A light-colored material uncovered by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander when it dug a trench into the Martian surface appears to be water ice, scientists said Thursday. The bright material, in chunks about the size of dice, was uncovered when the lander dug a trench on Sunday. By Thursday those chunks had disappeared, leading scientists to conclude that they were made of water ice that sublimated after being exposed to sunlight. When the material was first spotted early in the mission, scientists could not immediately determine if the material was ice or a salt; the fact that the chunks disappeared indicated that they must be ice.
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