Water On Mars Redux

8:30 pm EST July 31st, 2008 | News | 7 Comments


sol61xx, originally uploaded by marco sv.

It’s time for us to break the bonds of earth again.

The Phoenix spacecraft has tasted Martian water for the first time, scientists reported Thursday.

By melting icy soil in one of its lab instruments, the robot confirmed the presence of frozen water lurking below the Martian permafrost. Until now, evidence of ice in Mars’ north pole region has been largely circumstantial.

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7 Responses to “Water On Mars Redux”

  1. Jay says:
    August 1, 2008 at 10:00 am

    I’m guessing you’re touting a manned mission to Mars. My question is, what good can come out of a manned mission to the red planet?

  2. Oliver Willis says:
    August 1, 2008 at 10:05 am

    Oh, I don’t know… expanding man’s horizons beyond our own planet, the possible discovery of life on another planet. Or JUST THE AWESOMENESS OF GOING TO FREAKING MARS.

  3. The ghost of Jay's grandpappy says:
    August 1, 2008 at 10:34 am

    Don’t go Christopher Columbus. There is no profit. Everyone knows the world is flat. You’ll be lost over the edge!

  4. Wayne says:
    August 1, 2008 at 10:49 am

    i support FREAKING AWESOMENESS as a policy platform. but then again, i’m a nerd for space.

  5. Parthenon says:
    August 1, 2008 at 10:50 am

    My question is, what good can come out of a manned mission to the red planet?

    The ‘good’ of a space mission or astronomy project for joe average is always much more indirect than direct. True, all we’ll get out of it initially is knowledge and another hurdle crossed, at least in the immediate. But you might be surprised at the number of everyday technologies that came from astronomy/space programs. And the amount joe average spends on astronomy through his tax burden is miniscule.

    This isn’t going to be like the last age of exploration – they’re won’t be natural resources to import back into our own economies, nor people to swipe them from, at least not immediately. There will be a much longer investment before there’s a return.

  6. Luke the Intrepid says:
    August 3, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    If you people don’t get your asses in gear and eventually get off this planet the lives of everyone who has ever lived will amount to about nothing in the larger meaning of the life in the universe.

  7. Duros62 says:
    August 4, 2008 at 4:47 pm

    the lives of everyone who has ever lived will amount to about nothing in the larger meaning of the life in the universe.

    I am of the opinion that we reached that point long ago, universal-scale speaking.