Mars, on the rocks
 

We have ice!

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2...hoenix-tw.html

Pretty big finding. Pretty cool too.

Nice!

First off...I do believe it's ice. However, it certainly isn't conclusive evidence to me. Perhaps it's a compound that we've never seen on Earth that does the same thing as ice? Not great science to immediately decide it's ice. Like I said...I do believe it is but I'd certainly want more evidence if I was on the team.

Yeah, the picture didn't really convince me either. But once they colourize it in a few days, it'll show more than we're really able to see now.

Neat, if true

SI

Seems strange ice would be randomly logged on the ground where only to vanish from the dirt. And I like how the reports say "it must be ice" as opposed to something more definitive. I dunno.

Anyway, that pic comes from the Phoenix site.

I'm just not sure I buy it. I'd like to see a lot more evidence than that. For what has been such an essential question for so many years, it seems like a really crappy way to "prove" it.

I don't know how you can prove that is ice.

I'm going to assume the lander has sensors or whatever that can relay data the scientists can use to show it's ice.

Here's the actual NASA article with a better animation included..........

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ph...-20080619.html

Regarding the composition of the material, they should be able to detect it in the ovens on-board the lander. I'm sure they'll move to do more checking of that in the coming days.

As I said...I totally believe it's ice. I'd just like something a little better than what we have.

It's been a long forty years.

Well played, sir.