Monday, June 02, 2008

Phoenix Updates From Mars

Universe Today is keeping up with Phoenix updates from Mars. It Really Looks Like Ice on Mars:
ice-under-full 1.jpg

"Take a look at this image sent back from the Phoenix lander. On Friday, Phoenix scientist Ray Arvidson said there may be ice directly under the Phoenix lander, exposed in the blast zone by the retrorockets used for Phoenix's soft landing. Friday's image showed a small portion of the exposed area that looks brighter and smoother than the surrounding soil. On Saturday, Sol 5 for Phoenix on Mars, a new image shows a greater portion of the area under the lander. Scientists say the abundance of excavated smooth and level surfaces adds evidence to a hypothesis that the underlying material is an ice table covered by a thin blanket of soil. This is just what the Phoenix mission was hoping to find, and how incredible to land directly over your goal."

And here's a photo of Phoenix's first dig with it's arm:

phoenix-scoop-2 1.jpg

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