The Truth About Water on Mars: 5 New Findings

• Mars
• Phoenix Mission
• NASA
• research
• ice

The picture Phoenix took on Mars that captured the world's attention showed clean white ice, which had been just below the surface, exposed by the lander's own tracks. But, the latest studies now confirm, the lander also found the same hard ice table, about 2 to 7 inches deep in the ground, every place it looked.

The purity surprised Smith. He'd thought that if ice lies beneath Mars' surface, it might come from water vapor that freezes and attaches to soil particles at night and then sublimes directly back into a gas during the day. This cycle happens on Mars; as JPL researcher and study co-author Michael Hecht puts it, "The soil breathes." But, Smith says, a solid layer of ice like the Phoenix team found is the signature of liquid water freezing.

The Phoenix Lander followed up its find of ice below the surface with a much more controversial image: what appeared to be liquid water on the rover's legs. Hecht and Smith still disagree whether or not the image shows evidence of "thin films" of water that Smith says could exist on the surface and could have splashed onto the lander. However, Smith acknowledges, even if that water does exist, it's only a small amount. Mars is still an extraordinarily dry place that makes Antarctica look hospitable by comparison.

CLICK FOR MORE The Truth About Water On Mars
Lesson 1: Layers of Ice	Lesson 2: Calcium Carbonate	Lesson 3: Martian Clouds	Lesson 4: Perchlorate Controversy	Lesson 5: Life on Mars

Comment Title
Your Name
Email Address
Website	make public
Comment
Please enter the characters shown below:
	Make sure your comment is relevant to the topic discussed. Comments not relevant to the topic will be deleted. Neither you nor Popular Mechanics has the ability to make your e-mail address public. However, we ask that you submit your e-mail address to us just in case we need to contact you. Thank you for your understanding--The Editors.