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Probable Water Ice Sighted On Mars

Posted by timothy on from the pronounced-wooder-ice-in-philly dept.

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."

4 of 393 comments (clear)

  1. Was there ever doubt? by Gewalt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Haven't we known for a good many years that there was water ice at the cap?

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    Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
  2. This is why robots aren't great for science by putaro · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:This is why robots aren't great for science by CrazyJim1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Come on please. It is easier to get stuff there than to get stuff there and return it. Maybe a robot isn't perfect in its science capabilities, but it is well armed with equipment. Robots are great to go dangerous people. Which do you think is better for science: A: Robot lander crashes, retry again in a few months B: Philip Fry crashes on moon and dies a death, are we ever going to try that again?

      And there is always C & D. C: Robot lander lands on Mars and completes mission. D: Philip Fry completes mission, but the return module will not leave Mars. Will we ever try that again?

      I'm a big fan of robots to do stuff like this.

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      God spoke to me.
    2. Re:This is why robots aren't great for science by Bartab · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Come on please. It is easier to get stuff there than to get stuff there and return it.

      Find a couple astronaut capable people who have recently been diagnosed with cancer. Couple years to live, don't bring them back.

      A little cold hearted to design, but I'd guarantee you would have no lack of volunteers.

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      Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo.