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[Almost] Official - There's Water Ice on Mars!!

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    #32
    radiospan
    Registered Users Posts: 3,329 ✭✭✭radiospan


    Breaking news on BBC News now:

    LATEST: Nasa's Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft confirms presence of water on planet for first time. Details soon.

    EDIT: Full story up now: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7536123.stm


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    #33
    Pgibson
    Closed Accounts Posts: 406 ✭✭Pgibson


    Nice pic of a dried up river estuary,and dried ocean/lake coastline,on Mars. Three billion years old:

    http://geology.com/nasa/evidence-of-water-on-mars/evidence-of-water-on-mars-lg.jpg


    .


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    #34
    AtomicHorror
    Registered Users Posts: 5,888 ✭✭✭AtomicHorror


    Good that we've finally gotten direct detection. There's always that tiny space for doubt. The big question is whether the water ever formed long term liquid bodies. The evidence seems to suggest so, but the time scales involved will be critical in terms of whether life might have had opportunity to form.


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    #35
    lostexpectation
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,082 ✭✭✭lostexpectation


    i don't know wy they keep saying these canyans and river bed are evidence of water they only evidence of liquid.


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    #36
    AtomicHorror
    Registered Users Posts: 5,888 ✭✭✭AtomicHorror


    lostexpectation wrote: »
    i don't know wy they keep saying these canyans and river bed are evidence of water they only evidence of liquid.

    They're evidence of large bodies of liquid with flow characteristics that resemble that of water and which are capable of eroding rock in a very similar fashion to water. Deposits suggest it has solvent characteristics which resemble water. There are other liquids which fit the bill, but which of them have been identified in any phase on Mars?


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    #37
    oceansize
    Closed Accounts Posts: 257 ✭✭oceansize


    AtomicHorror wrote: »
    Depends if significant oxygen was present in the atmosphere of Mars in the past... it would have to be pretty deep ice mind you, since it seems that much of the ice melts or sublimates frequently enough, even near the poles. It certainly seems unlikely that this would be clarified by the Phoenix mission at any rate.

    Some sort of ice core drill would be a nice mission to send.

    They could send Bruce Willis and Ben Afleck up to drill for ice. best Drilling clue on the planet, or so i'm told


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