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Probable Water Ice Sighted On Mars
CraftyJack writes "Bright white chunks in the trenches dug by the Phoenix Lander have disappeared, leading Peter Smith & co. to believe that the chunks were ice that has since sublimated."
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Is there oil?
Haven't we known for a good many years that there was water ice at the cap?
Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
The white things were Martian beach loungers. And as they were there first, I strongly suspect they were German-speaking Martians.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Excellent. Some coke and rum and we've got ourselves a party!
Check out my sysadmin blog!
Now all we need to do is ship some vodka and vermouth there and we can call Mars civilized.
I Need someone to rebuild a Digitech Digital Delay pedal for me....for me...for me...for me.
but super scientific ovens do? i suppose the ice melted before they could cook it?
In such a carbon dioxide rich atmosphere, how do we know it is water ice and not frozen CO2? What do we know of the Martian surface and subsurface temperatures?
This was proven SO long ago.
Sigs are for Terrorists.
TFA does not discuss whether or not in might be frozen co2.
I thought there was still some question as to whether the poles were covered in water ice or co2 ice.
Can anyone enlighten me ?
Absolute statements are never true
They knew there must be ice when they found a sign that read "sulfur cones, 10"
Can the "Wall Drug" billboards be far behind?
These images show sublimation of ice in the trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" over the course of four days.
Oh really? No qualification there? No "this appears to be sublimation of ice" but a definite "this is a picture of ice"? The dumbing down of the net is officially complete.
Mod down people who tell people how to mod in their sigs
now if the lander can just uncover some gin and tonic and we are in business!
In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
Any volunteers? :)
We often see the scientific community putting manned spaceflight down, saying that it is not useful for scientific research. Had we sent people, with even a minimal laboratory, we'd have known within about 15 minutes whether what they were digging up was ice or not. Since the lander doesn't have an "ice" experiment/module on board, we're reduced to guess work.
The reality is that manned spaceflight is not *economical* for scientific research at this point. We should be working on getting our launch costs down so that we could actually send people to do things, build factories in space, and start getting some real benefit out of space.
is send a dozen or two probes to Mars full of bacteria/fungus and whatever other DNA based lifeform that shown ability to live in extreme conditions and populate the planet of Mars. A few of the probes should carry heavy drilling equipment.. bore into crust of mars and dump a few loads of bacteria..
its pretty obvious we'll fuck this planet up sooner rather than later so its probably a good idea to spread the seeds of life somewhere else. Maybe in 100 million years new life forms will thrive on Mars.
One world aliens. Enter dramatic gopher.
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1992LPICo.787...18K
now we can wash off the rovers?
By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth. -- George Carlin
Prof: Good news everyone!
Bender: Uh oh. I don't like the sound of that.
Prof: Today you'll be making a delivery to the planet Mars!
Bender: Bo-ring. Let's go get drunk!
Why do you think it disappeared so fast?
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
What do I win?
Um, we know that dry ice (frozen CO2) is on the poles. Bright white chunks that sublimate are dry ice. Ice tends to be clear and rarely sublimates. It would most likely melt first then evaporate. How about next time you see bright white chunks you analyze them. (disclaimer: I did not RTFA of course)
After all this time and effort, we finally found water on Mars, and we let it get away!
--
make install -not war
You see, you had a splendid joke there, and then you went and spoiled it.
Any truly civilized individual knows that a Martini is made with gin, not vodka.
Sheesh, when will these damn colonials ever learn ?
is it just me or does the picture look fake.. being black and white.... and then a cream yellow... doesnt make much sense to me
Another article about the same news: http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/06/mars-phoenix-tw.html
There is water ice on Mars within reach of the Mars Phoenix Lander, NASA scientists announced Thursday.
Photographic evidence settles the debate over the nature of the white material seen in photographs sent back by the craft. As seen in lower left of this image, chunks of the ice sublimed (changed directly from solid to gas) over the course of four days, after the lander's digging exposed them.
"It must be ice," said the Phoenix Lander's lead investigator, Peter Smith. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice."
The confirmation that water ice exists in the area directly surrounding the lander is big and good news for the Martian mission. NASA's stated goal for the Mars Phoenix was to find exactly this -- water ice -- and then analyze it. With the latest news, the first step is accomplished. All that's left now is to get the water into the Phoenix's instruments, a task which has occasionally proven more difficult than anticipated.
Still, this is the best opportunity that humanity has ever had to analyze extraterrestrial water in any form. That had the Phoenix Lander's persona fired up.
"Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!" the Mars Phoenix Lander tweeted at about 5:15 pm.
Their suspicions about water ice beneath the surface of Mars confirmed, scientists and the world will have renewed interest in the outcome of the soil analyses currently being conducted by the lander.
The samples are being examined for traces of organic molecules, among other substances, but the lander does not have instruments that could directly detect life.
See the full announcement from NASA.
Call me when they find salt, tequila, and Margarita mix. I'll bring my own glass (and lime).
[Insert pithy quote here]
Still remember when global surveyer first released the picture of massive amounts of water below the surface. It was too good to be true, no-one believed it, and it got put away.
Now we've found massive amounts of water just below the surface, enough water to make huge amounts of rocket fuel, and it didn't even make a buried link on CNN. Where in Calif* can you find water just 2" below the surface?
I remember a few years ago someone proposed a phased terraforming operation. Send a lander, have it do phase 1...step 2... big profit.
So lets get this going. I wanna see some of that big profit.
Now we can send a manned mission over there and use the H2O they find for fuel for the return trip. Just drop itr right in the tank. Just like all those e-mails say I can do to run my car on water.
It must be true. The InterWeb never lies.
Have gnu, will travel.
You will also find Jimmy Hoffa, Elvis Presley and Osama Bin Laden playing strip poker :D
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
Sure, Martinis may be made with gin, but martiantinis are made with vodka. Duh.
WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
Moderators, please get a grip. sjf is wrong, but if you look at their history, and consider the simplicity of the incorrect factual statement they made, they probably are not Trolling. Overrated, sure, but Troll is pretty harsh.
If you mod me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
Which flavor? Cherry? Watermelon? Just kidding. That's amazing news. There's gonna be some huge discoveries there sometime soon.
What flavor is it? And can we get it back through re-entry and into stores without it melting?
Of course I didn't RTFA... why would I do that? You really are new here aren't you? Don't let my UID fool you.
s/Philip Fry/George W. Bush/g
Might not get any science done, but it sure would feel good!
paintball
If they found life on mars you'd spend the next 20 years disproving all the nay sayers claiming the bacteria is really contamination from earth. there are some people who have great emotional investment in there not being life anywhere but earth, and they will do anything to be right.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Your post is written in very good english, denoting that you have a good level of education. What a striking contrast is made by the content of your post.
You can't just segregate space exploration from the rest of science. Where do you want to end up? A glorious society that lives with the belief that everything revolves around the earth?
Rather than telling people they are fucking twits, why not relax a touch yourself and sip your own medicine? Secondly, I agree that things you raise are important to look at. Global warming, food production and a whole other plethora of things. But where I disagree is to say that someone studying something else shouldn't study it and put all that effort into the area that you like. You want more study on world food reserves? Great, get up off the chair in front of that PC and start making a change!
P.S. Using the word fuck over and over generally makes it lose the emphasizing effect greatly and just makes you look like a snotty nosed kid who can get away with swearing over the internet because mommy and daddy aren't watching.
Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
Awesome, what flavor?
it not invisabul it jus look dat way
If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
I think the most important thing, and it is something that everyone keeps missing, is that NASA has found a way to turn even rocket scientists into ditch diggers!
Imagine a bright young engineer studying hard on saturday nights, while all his friends are getting drunk and laid, and thinking how he'll have a successful career with NASA. And when thinking about his lucky friends he says to himself "the world needs ditchdiggers too."
And some day he gets into NASA, and his boss's first words are:
"Johnson, this ain't rocket science, Phoenix has landed and I need you do dig me a ditch..."
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
It's like a million voices cried out "who cares!" and were suddenly silenced ...
An' Basement Cat meleted it.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
(Okay, okay, I just looked it up: "sublimate" can also be used with ice, but "sublime" is preferred.)
Here's a picture from the phoenix lander of water on Mars: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0504/WaterOnMars2_gcc.jpg
Because the "waterless" urinals around here tell me there is a "potable water crisis" and we need to conserve water. So maybe some day we can find enough potable water to sustain our immense world population.
I call extreme BS, but if "they" say so it must be true right? A water shortage on the blue planet? My ass!
Ahh, Water Ice on Mars. I didn't know they deliver.
Sometimes I make my own, but I do prefer the lemon Italian Ice.
You use vodka out of respect for the fallen Russian probes. When the Dutch lose more probes on Mars to the Russians, we can start switching to gin.
Space exploration has no benefit for society in general. So there is no point in understanding why we have tides? What about how sunspots generate random levels of radiation that plays havoc with the radio broadcasts and communications that we use? What about looking into the area of space around our humble planet to see if there is an asteroid or comet heading right for us? Don't you think that these three points off the top of my head have some sort of benefit for society in general?
As for the swearing, my point is that if it is used as commonly as in your original thread, it really does water down. I got absolutely nothing against colorful language. My point is if you put in too much color, the whole thing becomes a gaudy mess rather than a well accentuated splash here and there.
Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
This time they really really really really really really found water. Just like the last time they really really really found water. But that one time they found water they really didn't. But this time they really almost definitely did.
The reason you get modded to hell is obvious to this 50yo geek and was politely explained by the GP.
The fact you think space exploration is a waste of time is your opinion, the way you state that opinion is 95% pure troll/flamebait. The unwashed masses of slashdotter do not have a personal grudge against you, you seem incapable of communicating contrary ideas without spewing bile at the same time.
Also your original post is flat out wrong...
"All the bad things about climate change, economic collapse, and overpopulation are happening here and now. The ability to use space exploration technology to address these problems won't be realistic for hundreds of years, if ever."
Space exploration may not fix these problems but how did we find out about them? The effects of AGW and overpopulation have been measured for the last 30-40yrs using space programs such as landsat. As the GP suggested you cannot seperate science into little piles of factoids and then only fund the piles you want to grow, science is both a body of knowledge AND a way of thinking.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Democratyatize is a perfectly cromulent word.
+++ATH0
Large groups of Martians are now protesting at the landing site.
Holding placards saying "Go home - Keep Mars for the Martians" - "You messed up Earth, Leave Mars Alone" - "There's no Oil Here - Go Home"
It appears we may not be welcome after all.
http://davesboat.blogspot.com/
The Viking lander already observed frost:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_2
Furthermore, experiments with simulated soil and athmosphere suggest that that frost actually turns liquid when it melts.
Astronauts will be able to make Long Island Ice Tea on Mars without having to ship expensive ice all the way from earth!
When the roads get iced up round my way, they come out and chuck a load of reddish coloured sand on it and it melts, so how can all that ice exist under all that reddish coloured sand on Mars? They really didn't think this through.
Are you sure about "In civilized societies, money is limited and funding is allocated according to the best possible benefit for the society." Could you list those fields, which will be most benefit to the society in the next 50 years.
Jesus, I thought I signed onto slashdot, but after reading the comments I realize I must have clicked on Fark by mistake.
where you see a problem i see opportunity
send 10 fat guys to mars in a small capsule loaded with beans, rice, corn dogs, garlic knots, etc
when the capsule reaches mars, BOOM, a little percussion decompression, and voila: instant martian atmosphere
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Blue sky on Mars.
Analytic & algebraic topology of locally Euclidean meterization of infinitely differentiable Riemmanian manifold
No, no, the Germans are hiding on the Moon, not Mars:
http://www.ironsky.net/site/?p=16
Jeez, it seems like you can't go 5 miles anymore without a Rita's.
There is absolutely no need to prove that the Earth is the center of the universe, orbited by the other celestial bodies.
Just pull up a Ptolemaic diagram (google is your friend), look at the center (i.e. within the orbits of the planets), and what do you see?
A circle which is, in fact, the Earth.
And what does the fact that the Sun and all other celestial bodies have concentric orbits around the Earth prove?
Bingo. Geocentrism.
I'm proud to work on space exploration - and I know better than to pass judgment on someone else's chosen field.
http://www.marshydro.com/ :-)
O'WONDERWe're working on it.
Both are listed in the dictionary.
Mars has Water Ice? Mmm... I'll take mango flavored.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_ice#Water_ice]
Does this mean the Martians also have small buildings with Red & White striped awnings and seasonal raggae-esq television commercials; or is it just the crappy paper-cup variety you find in the supermarket?
I can't swear in scientific papers, in polite company, or at work. But I can on Slashdot. I aspire to do it there brilliantly.
Thank you, Simonetta
Then you failed miserably. I do respect your opinion; even though I see no harm in looking for life in another planets, perhaps we should spend more time and effort trying to fix the mess we did in this one first. Perhaps we are just looking for a suitable place to mess up just like we did here, who knows.But the moment you start cursing like a ten year old who got away from mummy and is allowed to say fuck, just for the sake of it, and start repeating spanish words for no reason (what do you mean? are all the people in NASA spanish? does calling someone amigo makes you argument stronger?) you just look like a retard.
Where is that guy who'd die defending what I had to say when I need him?
Here in New York we call it Italian Ice. It's my favorite tasty summer treat!
We'd better throw out those phase change diagrams in the schools' books and remove the triple point of water, someone on /. has confirmed ...
IT'S ALL A LIE! Water can't sublimate.
Of course, since the triple point of water is 6.1 millibars @ 0.0098 C, and the average atmospheric pressure of Mars is 6 millibars, it can't possibly ever have favorable conditions for the sublimation of ... err ... uh, I mean, ummm ... ... ....
err
Uh
All your vapor belong to US!
All that way just to find out that martians are addicted to crack, too...
our carbon dioxide breathing mutant human overlords!
Mars, atmosphere: CO2 ~ 95.3%, N 2.7%, Argon 1.6%, O2 0.13%.
Of course we could just build irrigation systems on Mars, inside greenhouse type enclosures, and plant trees. In a hundred years we'd have a breathable atmosphere in the enclosures, if we planted enough trees. Build enough enclosures, plant enough trees and tap enough water, and we'd eventually be able to vent the enclosed atmosphere and be done with the enclosures. Voila! Our first terraformed planet! Of course, I haven't done a critical analysis of this. There is also the possibility that venting the artificial atmosphere into the actual Martian atmosphere wouldn't work. Also, those really cold nights might kill off any tress not in an enclosure that controls the temperature. In which case we'd need to call in Arnold to fix things!
A wizard did it.
those poor microbes living in the Martian soil that had all the water ice in their environment and their microscopic bodies sublimated right out of them!
Cry for the poor microbial Martian lifeforms!
Better not send any manned missions there for a while and if you do, don't send any laser cutting drills.
Oh and be careful around any sparkling twinkling sand.
Obviously there's water on Mars or else it would be a bit pointless building all those canals, wouldn't it? Do you really think they shipped it onto Mars from another planet?
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'
'Oui, monsieur.'
'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's [an English gin], one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. [this is not vermouth by the way] Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'
'Certainly, monsieur.' The barman seemed pleasant with the idea.
'Gosh that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.
(Casino Royale)
That's where the ice went.
Ice sublimates you!
But what does the oven tell us?
It's a pretty thought, but it seldom works out that way. Throwing money at problems, while sometimes helpful (if for no other reason than the fact that it can be used to wipe up the crap that the fan sent flying everywhere), does not fix them.
Not to mention, space exploration goes beyond mere science (of which there is plenty). Even the aesthetics have at least some value (things like pride at accomplishment, the joy of the intellect, and all that other stuff the professor spouted about in my mandatory fine arts class). Consider, as just one example, the Fremont bridge in Portland, OR. It costs several times what it should have for merely aesthetic considerations. Or consider cities that require 1% of any public building project to be allocated to art.
Personally, I find space exploration much, much more attractive than a goofy facade on some federal building.
Not that I entirely agree with the other poster, but: Understanding tides, understanding sunspots effects on communications, searching for asteroids/comets... none of these require space exploration. They all can be, and almost entirely have been, done by earth-bound observation.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Ice means we can have ice cubes in our sodas!
thought I read "POTABLE Water Found on Mars".... Whew!
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
>Our entire space program from 1958 to today cost less than our current misadventures in the middle east.
Gawd that is depressing.
A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
It is quite true that reducing the cost of launch capacity would reduce the cost of sending the human. However, I do not see any reason why this would not also proportionally reduce the cost of launching larger (or faster, or more numerous) robots. The one real benefit is public relations, the ability to mint space-cadet heros.
Which is why underground coal mining no longer exists.
So the last bit of water on Mars, just sublimed into space. Damn we're good...
--MarkusQ
the white stuff on the surface is not water ice, it's CO2. The water is underground.
Any water on the surface would vaporize away.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
It is immoral NOT to take these step and make the so they are survivable to our species.
NOT looking out for the survival of the species is immoral... and the path to annihilation.
Seed the star, continue forever.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Just not the same without Manny's broken English.
Am I the only one who somehow interpreted the first word in the title as, well, "probable"? No, not in the sense of "likely". Probe-able. Must be the Martian connection.
I also understood "water ice" as a popsicle. A phallic one.
Yeah, OK, it's probably just me.
My friends and I have made a Steven Hawking esque bet that there will be people going to Mars to live out their lives on a permanent colony within one of our life times. We each agreed to deposit $5,000 into a pooled account that none of us would be able to open unless the news was heard. The idea is that the account, like a retirement fund, will be worth millions by the time the bet is decided. So far we have two for and one against. We need more people.
Actually that would be a drink Bond is supposed to have invented and named the "Vesper." No one whose experience of Martinis extends beyond James Bond would call that recipe a classic Martini.
Mind you, you should drink whatever you want to whatever recipe you choose. The "traditional" Martini has one measure of vermouth to 3 of Gin, which is how I like it. But most people I know prefer the "classic" recipe which involves little more vermouth than is needed to wet the inside of the glass.
A lush, moi ?