There's Water On Mars!

NASA's Phoenix Mars lander has confirmed the presence of water on the Red Planet. The announcement was made on July 31, 2008 after researchers revealed the results of the lander's on board laboratory tests. The Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, heated samples of Martian soil delivered by the lander's robotic arm. An analysis of the vapors released by heating confirmed that there was water in the sample.

This previous week NASA also released a complete 360 degree panorama of the Martian surface near the north pole (Pictured Above). The photo is comprised of 400 separate images taken during the first weeks after Phoenix landed. If you click on the image and blow it up to full size you'll be in for a visual treat. You can see the polygon like patterns in the ground which resembles the same forms we see in areas with permafrost here on Earth. Also, to the right of the lander, you can see one of the trenches dug by the lander's robotic arm. The areas of white in the trench are ice and scientist we're able to see portions of it evaporate over time. They just weren't sure it was water ice until the TEGA testing.If you and I were standing on the Martian arctic plain this is what we would see all around us. It's a forbidding environment to be sure. Today's high temperature at the lander was -22 degrees Fahrenheit. If we decided to set up camp and spend the night next to the Phoenix lander, the overnight low would dip to a nippy -112 degrees. Luckily there's no chance of precipitation.