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Strange Globs Could Signal Water On Mars
Joshua.Niland writes "Strange globs seen on the landing strut of the Phoenix Mars lander could be the first proof that modern Mars hosts liquid water. Images from the robotic craft show what appear to be liquid droplets growing, merging, and dripping on the lander's leg over the course of a Martian month. Just when is NASA going to fix that leaking roof on the backlot?"
That condensed on the metal parts of the rover. Assuming of course that those globs are water and not Martian spit or something else.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
Carbon Dioxide won't condense to water because
1) It's not water; and
2) if you're meaning 'liquid' CO2 doesn't appear in a liquid form at pressures below 5.1 (Earth) atmospheres of pressure. On Mars it will only appear as either gas or 'dry ice.'
Of course, there are plenty of other liquids it could be, and that's why no-one in the know has actually identified it as water.
Cogito, ergo sig.
The fact that liquid water can be stable on the surface of Mars has been known for a while. Direct observation, of course, is nice. The next question is whether there might be significant open bodies of water (brine) in some locations. Some satellite photographs could be interpreted that way.
The existence of perchlorates adds another dimension, though, because they are such an effective anti-freeze and a potential metabolite. The perchlorates might actually be biologically generated on Mars, somewhat similar to the way organisms on Earth have generated large amounts of oxygen and changed the environment on a global scale. On Earth, reduction in CO2 levels was an important factor in making the climate more hospitable, and on Mars, generation of perchlorates may make the water more accessible.
It can go red giant, which is already enough to toast us.
Actually, Earth is toast much earlier than that. As the sun ages, its luminosity increases, and in only about a billion years, there will be no liquid water on Earths surface due to the increased temperature, even though the sun will live for another couple of billion years before becoming a red giant.