This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 7:28 pm and is filed under Astronomy, Mars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The Phoenix Lander has discovered that Martian soil is rich in nutrients that could have once supported life. The nutrients are just one of many indicators gleaned from the Phoenix Lander since it began collecting and testing soil samples a few weeks ago. The early findings show the presence of ice crystals and nutrients, which point towards the presence of water - the basis for life. Its clear that the soil has clearly interacted with water in the past but its unknown if the interaction occurred at this area or whether it might have happened elsewhere and blown around Mars as dust. While NASA has said that some work remained before the first wet-chemical analysis was fully complete, it is similar to that found in Antarctica’s upper valleys and the salts it contains are another strong indication of the presence of water.
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Tags: Extraterrestrial Life, MarsLeave a Reply
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