Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
(AFP) – Sep 30, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) — In an unprecedented discovery, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has found snow falling from clouds on Mars, scientists said Tuesday.
A laser instrument collecting data on how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars detected snow from clouds about four kilometers (2.5 miles) above the spacecraft's landing site. The date found the snow vaporized before reaching the ground.
"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway, of York University, Toronto, lead scientist for the Canadian-supplied Meteorological Station on Phoenix. "We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground."
Spacecraft soil experiments also have provided dramatic evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water, processes that occur on Earth. Phoenix touched down in the Martian arctic on May 25.
Phoenix data also suggested the presence of calcium carbonate, the main composition of chalk, and particles that could be clay. Most carbonates and clays on Earth form only with water on hand.
"We have found carbonate," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA). "This points toward episodes of interaction with water in the past."
"We are still collecting data and have lots of analysis ahead, but we are making good progress on the big questions we set out for ourselves," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson.
The Phoenix lander started digging trenches into Martian soil after touching down near the planet's north pole on May 25, revealing a white substance that scientists said was ice in June.
Now scientists want to examine whether that ice ever thaws to assess whether the environment has been favorable for life, a key aim of the mission.
Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
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Gawdzilla Sama
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Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
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AshtonBlack
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
The odds of finding something alive on mars keep shortening. Yay, science!!! We need this to be able to pick one or two holes in a couple of very popular books 
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Clinton Huxley
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, he said........AshtonBlack wrote:The odds of finding something alive on mars keep shortening. Yay, science!!! We need this to be able to pick one or two holes in a couple of very popular books
The Phoenix Lander is now buried under the ice, IIRC, be interesting to see what is left of it when the ice thaws again.
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Gawdzilla Sama
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
From the Q&A at NASA:Clinton Huxley wrote:The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one, he said........AshtonBlack wrote:The odds of finding something alive on mars keep shortening. Yay, science!!! We need this to be able to pick one or two holes in a couple of very popular books
The Phoenix Lander is now buried under the ice, IIRC, be interesting to see what is left of it when the ice thaws again.
On Jan 17, 2009 5:16 PM Steve wrote:
Is there any chance that Phoenix will wake up when things warm back up?
NASA Moderator: There's always a chance although it's not expected to make a recovery.
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Clinton Huxley
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
Of course, it didn't really land on Mars, it was all done in a giant warehouse in Arizona.....
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AshtonBlack
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
Yeah, next to the big tank that holds the titanic "wreck." I read it on ATS.Clinton Huxley wrote:Of course, it didn't really land on Mars, it was all done in a giant warehouse in Arizona.....
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
They have one that IS the size of a planet, but the commute is hell.Clinton Huxley wrote:Of course, it didn't really land on Mars, it was all done in a giant warehouse in Arizona.....
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Clinton Huxley
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
I know! We all live in that planet warehouse and the sky......well the sky is fake like in the Truman Show! When will the truth out??Gawdzilla wrote:They have one that IS the size of a planet, but the commute is hell.Clinton Huxley wrote:Of course, it didn't really land on Mars, it was all done in a giant warehouse in Arizona.....
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Horwood Beer-Master
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Horwood Beer-Master
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
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FBM
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
Let it rain -- on the Sun!
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
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Clinton Huxley
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
I hear there's a chance mars could get hit by an asteroid in 2014.
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I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled"
AND MERRY XMAS TO ONE AND All!
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FBM
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
Oh? Wish I could afford the kind of telescope necessary to watch that...
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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FBM
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Re: Let it snow -- on Mars: NASA
"A philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. A theologian is the man who finds it." ~ H. L. Mencken
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
"We ain't a sharp species. We kill each other over arguments about what happens when you die, then fail to see the fucking irony in that."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism while the wolf remains of a different opinion."
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