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Question
Why was it significant that the Phoenix lander found ice on Mars? Haven't we known for some time that Mars has ice caps at its poles?
At the Phoenix landing site in the martian Arctic, we expected to find ice-cemented ground beneath dry permafrost. This kind of ice can form from condensing vapor just as do the polar caps on Mars. However, the small chunks of what appear to be pure ice (segregated ice) were a surprise. On Earth segregated ice is found as ice crystals in soil formed from freezing of a liquid phase. The liquid need not be pure water but can be a eutectic brine, such MgCl2 which freezes at -30ºC. Thus the significance is that this form of ice suggests recent liquid water (probably salt water) at the location where Phoenix landed. Chris McKay (NASA Ames) and David Morrison (NAI)
July 24, 2008
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