Reuters reported Thursday that researchers are "flabbergasted" at their latest discovery in NASA's Mars Phoenix project. Sam Kounaves, the lead investigator for the lander's wet chemistry laboratory, said, "We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life whether past, present or future." The lander touched down on May 25 and began digging through the Martian surface, collecting soil samples that have been analyzed on board the craft.Kounaves added, "It is the type of soil you would probably have in your backyard...you might be able to grow asparagus in it really well." Last week, scientists confirmed the existence of ice on the planet.
GET INFORMED
- Read the Reuters story
- Visit the Mars Phoenix site
- Visit NASA's Phoenix site
- View images of Mars taken by Phoenix
- Donate to the Beatrice M. Tinsley Prize, awarded every two years for outstanding research contributions to astronomy or astrophysics
- Sign a petition to save the Jodrell Bank Observatory, a historic radio telescope in Cheshire, UK, from closure
- Download this month's night sky map and calendar

No comments:
Post a Comment