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Strange Globs Could Signal Water On Mars

Posted by timothy on from the growing-merging-dripping dept.

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?"

2 of 186 comments (clear)

  1. No, it proves there is water vapor by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 3, Informative

    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.
  2. Re:Not necessarily water... by cammoblammo · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.