digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover and share the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

See the original image at phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu

"Perfect Evidence" ICE on Mars!

phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu — "It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • BriFi, on 06/20/2008, -11/+575just got the tweet from mars phoenix:
    "are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!"
    • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -0/+52And the followup: "Whoohoo! Was keeping my eye on some chunks of bright stuff & they disappeared! Sublimated! So it can't be salt, it's ice."
      • iPissExcellence, on 06/21/2008, -2/+1maybe mars just farted so that some of the salt blew away?
      • StrawberryMacaw, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1It's Martian coke, and it didn't sublimate. A Martian snorted it up.
    • FirstDigg, on 06/20/2008, -22/+14Here are some mirrors

      Image:
      Original: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images/dodo_020_024 ...
      Mirror: http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5650/dodo020024 ...

      Story:
      Bright Chunks At Phoenix Lander's Mars Site Must Have Been Ice

      June 19, 2008 -- Dice-size crumbs of bright material have vanished from inside a trench where they were photographed by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander four days ago, convincing scientists that the material was frozen water that vaporized after digging exposed it.

      "It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."

      The chunks were left at the bottom of a trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" when Phoenix's Robotic Arm enlarged that trench on June 15, during the 20th Martian day, or sol, since landing. Several were gone when Phoenix looked at the trench early today, on Sol 24.

      Also early today, digging in a different trench, the Robotic Arm connected with a hard surface that has scientists excited about the prospect of next uncovering an icy layer.

      The Phoenix science team spent Thursday analyzing new images and data successfully returned from the lander earlier in the day.

      Studying the initial findings from the new "Snow White 2" trench, located to the right of "Snow White 1," Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, co-investigator for the robotic arm, said, "We have dug a trench and uncovered a hard layer at the same depth as the ice layer in our other trench."

      On Sol 24, Phoenix extended the first trench in the middle of a polygon at the "Wonderland" site. While digging, the Robotic Arm came upon a firm layer, and after three attempts to dig further, the arm went into a holding position. Such an action is expected when the Robotic Arm comes upon a hard surface.

      Meanwhile, the spacecraft team at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver is preparing a software patch to send to Phoenix in a few days so scientific data can again be saved onboard overnight when needed. Because of a large amount a duplicative file-maintenance data generated by the spacecraft Tuesday, the team is taking the precaution of not storing science data in Phoenix's flash memory, and instead downlinking it at the end of every day, until the conditions that produced those duplicative data files are corrected.

      "We now understand what happened, and we can fix it with a software patch," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena. "Our three-month schedule has 30 days of margin for contingencies like this, and we have used only one contingency day out of 24 sols. The mission is well ahead of schedule. We are making excellent progress toward full mission success."

    • dasilva333, on 06/20/2008, -22/+3http://marsanomalyresearch.com/ find the truth read the truth photos straight from nasa
      • 1310nm, on 06/20/2008, -0/+16That's uh, interesting, I guess. I didn't know we had Mars truthers around.
      • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -1/+4Oh for the love. I hope this is satire. Idiots.
      • shank2001, on 06/20/2008, -1/+7WOW, that website is for pure WACKOS, pure and simple. Let me guess, you think the US Government conspired to orchestrate 9/11 too, right? It really is SAD.
        • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -1/+4And don't forget, Apollo was faked...

          Seriously though, I was just reading some of the stuff... wow, it's like reading an 8th grader's homework.
      • acetv, on 06/20/2008, -0/+6Why is it that so many conspiracy theorists' writing reads like distilled crazy?

        "You can bet that, once those representing the official position understand where I am headed with this reporting, they will no doubt laugh in a pyschologically [sic] diminishing way and say that this is merely a collapsed bag or chute associated with the Opportunity Lander's decent in the atmosphere and/or its landing. Either that or they will likely identify it or the evidence like it pointed out in Part-1 around the Lander in Eagle Crater as impressions left on the ground by the Lander's bags or chutes as the Lander bounced and rolled around before coming to a rest. You can bet that it will be anything to get the evidence associated with the Lander and Earth rather with than Mars."

        "Organic matter as the constituent of these multiple and repeatedly replicated bags in turn indicates LIFE. The logic of it is inescapable and, no matter how it may discomfort some who prefer to see it otherwise, it is based almost entirely on objective visual evidence here, not just subjective extrapolation. In other words, it is a matter of hard visual evidence, not opinion. The fact is that the Opportunity Lander landed right on top of Mars life and the rover drove right over it without apparent recognition. How is that for irony?"

        Oh, yeah. Because they're crazy.
    • bluesdealer, on 06/20/2008, -4/+13Yeah, I saw that tweet and had an "OMG" moment. I guess the geek side of me still exists stronger than I thought.
      • cbizzle, on 06/20/2008, -0/+16you actively browse digg and doubt the geek side of you exists? ;)
    • MustangMatt, on 06/20/2008, -7/+0I wonder how long it was there before it actually melted?

      But it's a "Break through" too find ice on Mars, IF IT WAS ICE.

      I wouldn't dought it though.

      It's about time to see something exciting out theses days eh' ?
      • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -0/+4Well it probably didn't melt, it sublimed. And it must have done it in under 4 days as that is how much time passed between the two images used to make the discovery.

        Salt doesn't sublime, it was ice.
      • ophello, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2*doubt
    • brbroman, on 06/20/2008, -2/+13Couldn't it just be solid c02 sublimating?
      • aptanalogy, on 06/20/2008, -1/+6I was thinking exactly this. How can they tell the difference? Furthermore, doesn't CO2 sublimate faster than frozen water?
      • sc0rpi0n, on 06/20/2008, -0/+16I was asking that too. Phoenix must have laser scanned the temperature of the ice. It's above freezing point of CO2, so it must be water ice.
      • p3ngwin, on 06/20/2008, -7/+3it may be ice, but all this PROBABLY shows frozen something.
        proof is relative,as if everything is possible in the universe then all is left is probability.

        so the apparent behavior is frozen like....but frozen WHAT exactly.......intriguing and intriguing!
      • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -0/+14As is addressed in other comments: CO2 ice and H2O ice sublimate at different temps and pressures. At this particular temp and pressure, the ice must be water.
      • drunkinbda, on 06/20/2008, -0/+8shhhhh its water!!!! dont kill the mood ;)
    • ThinkBox, on 06/20/2008, -1/+59ATTENTION: We are now living in the future... a robot on another planet sends us messages to our phones!
      • nakani, on 06/20/2008, -0/+19haha I hadn't even thought of it like that
      • deadmann, on 06/20/2008, -2/+20I'm pretty sure it's just a guy they've got typing it up..
    • duckyinc, on 06/20/2008, -8/+2Twitter is the new myspace?
    • Sfinakis, on 06/20/2008, -4/+1Hi to *.*
      I just have a couple of questions... How are we sure that what we see is water ice and not carbon dioxide ice (Martian atmosphere is very very reach in CO2). What is the temperature variation up there so that ice melt can be justified?
      Thank you for reading...
      • alecks, on 06/20/2008, -0/+4There's no DOT notation in people, fyi
      • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1This has been answered in a number of other comments.
      • Smills, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1According to the phoenix twitter 'CO2 vs. H20 ice: Temp too high and pressure too low for CO2 ice.'
    • boejangles, on 06/20/2008, -2/+9Maybe its Ice.... or MAYBE its Diamonds!
      I dunno...I'm not a scientist. But im willing to bet my scientific reputation on it.
  • OffPiste, on 06/20/2008, -44/+3We are so *****. This is bad. It's tantamount to near calamity.
    • finalmillenium, on 06/20/2008, -0/+17Last time I checked, Mars Attacks was a movie.
      I would think that this is a good thing. We have the base material for power generation on another planet!
    • Chassit, on 06/20/2008, -1/+3Ehh?
    • thcobbs, on 06/20/2008, -0/+18Its only a calamity that I won't be able to enjoy a single malt scotch on Martian ice.
  • dlsspy, on 06/20/2008, -3/+229There's an animation on the home page of that site:

    http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images/dodo_020_024 ...

    Somebody bottle this up!
    • jsaya, on 06/20/2008, -2/+10I'm waiting for a YTMND of this...
    • utnow, on 06/20/2008, -5/+0So oxygen bonds with hydrogen on mars too?!?!?! I'm not sure what the hell they expected to find... other than transformers...
  • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -3/+61Huzzah for sublimation!
    • fearlessfrog, on 06/20/2008, -1/+14Man, if I had a nickel for every time I'd heard that... I'd be a r.. oh wait.
  • mvanhorn, on 06/20/2008, -32/+4GO CATS!!! (sorry went to UA)
  • EAMUS1CATULI, on 06/20/2008, -31/+8yeah just got the tweet from kevin rose. Cool!
  • ktxxx, on 06/20/2008, -31/+1"It must be ice"

    LAWL
  • cjennings, on 06/20/2008, -6/+455and where there's ice there's hockey
    • IxE78, on 06/20/2008, -8/+215Therefore, mars belongs to Canada!!!
      • starmanfalls, on 06/20/2008, -21/+15That was really funny to me. Thanks.
        • Matt174e, on 06/20/2008, -0/+27I didn't realise it at first, but it's funny to me too. Thank for pointing that out.
        • aptanalogy, on 06/20/2008, -1/+18To myself, also, it was found to be humorous.
        • AManWithNoName, on 06/20/2008, -1/+21In my feeling, comedy occurred from your comment. Gratitude!
        • Joshuarr, on 06/20/2008, -1/+13I as well enjoyed a moment of mirth.
        • dasdef, on 06/20/2008, -1/+10i find your comment highly comical.
          go canada.
        • Modestexcuse, on 06/20/2008, -1/+9I found myself caught in a moment of joy, increasing to humor followed ever-so-quickly to laughter.
        • daskalou, on 06/20/2008, -1/+12I want sex.
      • copypastry, on 06/20/2008, -2/+43Well it's not a stretch, Mars is the "red planet", but we could just call it the "red and white planet" :D
        • bosssmiley, on 06/20/2008, -0/+21Cold, desolate, empty. Yep, 11th province of Canada right there. :-)
        • MackenzieArbour, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1Sounds more like a territory.
      • 471776, on 06/20/2008, -1/+9I think it goes to Detroit this year.
        • Dgen_X, on 06/20/2008, -0/+4I think players might have a little trouble lifting Mars over their heads in celebration...
    • kman86, on 06/20/2008, -3/+56Perhaps the maple leafs should join the martian league. At least that way they'll have a chance of winning something :)
      • grizzlybrice, on 06/20/2008, -0/+16yeah... until they play Pluto.
        • captnkurt, on 06/20/2008, -0/+11I heard they play hockey in Uranus.
        • FreckleEars, on 06/20/2008, -2/+0but Pluto has not been in the major leagues since the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix, so Pluto won't be a problem for any of my Canadian teams
    • VaporBro, on 06/20/2008, -2/+43And where there is hockey there is hockey hair.
    • AmericanGunner, on 06/20/2008, -26/+5and wherever theirs hockey, there's noone to watch it!
      • Brak710101, on 06/20/2008, -5/+2I'll at least be there.

        If you don't at least like hockey, you obviously never watched it.
    • lfroker, on 06/20/2008, -22/+9hockey sucks
    • seanmc303, on 06/20/2008, -2/+10Yet another planet for Wayne Gretzky to dominate.
      • avatarpalin, on 06/20/2008, -0/+4Gretzky? Damn i bought a shirt that said "Gritzky"
    • nickesson, on 06/20/2008, -1/+24And where there´s hockey there´s beer!
      • SpockGuy, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3Because there is no other way to enjoy hockey unless you're drunk.
    • avatarpalin, on 06/20/2008, -10/+4I bet the Catholics will come out and say that there is no way Hockey can exist on any other planet than earth.

      • soupdawg30, on 06/21/2008, -0/+2That doesn't make any sense at all. You sir fail at digg.
    • ugachaka, on 06/20/2008, -0/+3So Canada beat us to Mars?
    • zonk3r, on 06/21/2008, -0/+3And where there's hockey there are Canadians. Conclusion = Canadians are from Mars.
  • Cynic821, on 06/20/2008, -87/+0ice is awesome!!!!! so is jacehallshow.com


    • Mrdudeperson, on 06/20/2008, -1/+25I hate you
    • zdiddy85, on 06/20/2008, -0/+13You joined Digg 4 days ago and people already hate you.

      Not a good foot to start on.
  • ekai, on 06/20/2008, -26/+13What a relief. For a moment I thought they discovered Vanilla Ice on Mars.
    • bmson, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2Vanilla Ice?
      Maybe his backup dancer...

      He was lost and dangerous last time checked...
    • sfrench, on 06/20/2008, -0/+3It's better than Chocolate Rain
  • codeyman, on 06/20/2008, -19/+4finally... there would be no more ice shortage on earth now :P
  • aelder, on 06/20/2008, -6/+30I like to imagine Isaac Kleiner writing the Twitter updates.

    "We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!"


    • mightytribble, on 06/20/2008, -1/+10...and meanwhile, Magnussen is saying that he predicted this all twenty years ago, and it was obvious to anyone with a proper education.
    • 1310nm, on 06/20/2008, -15/+10Twitter is the most awful, narcissistic crap ever. I hope it dies soon.
      • 1310nm, on 06/20/2008, -1/+5Too funny, this comment had a bunch of positive diggs earlier today. I guess Twitter has its own zealots and/or media blitzing crew.
    • 007isbond1, on 06/20/2008, -0/+14meanwhile.. gordon freeman is roaming around the lab and zooming in on alyx's ass whenever he gets the chance.
      • jamusallen, on 06/20/2008, -0/+3And using his PhD from MIT to push the "Find Ice" button.
  • scalemodlgiant, on 06/20/2008, -8/+100This is big. WAY big.
    • DeskFlyer, on 06/20/2008, -4/+86That's what she said.
      • eviljolly, on 06/20/2008, -5/+15That's not what Ryan's mom said though...
    • randomerratum, on 06/20/2008, -11/+2I know, right?
      I bet Martian hockey is awesome!
  • tzilla12, on 06/20/2008, -33/+287in other news bill gates ordered the most expensive glass of ice water ever!!!!!
    • tzilla12, on 06/20/2008, -18/+206bill gates wouldn't do that and that was a stupid comment!!

      GET THE HELL OFF DIGG!!
      • tzilla12, on 06/20/2008, -9/+178hey that was kinda mean!
        • tzilla12, on 06/20/2008, -11/+165***** you! it's people like you that are ruining digg!
        • Acglaphotis, on 06/20/2008, -1/+128Are you schizophrenic like us?
        • bmson, on 06/20/2008, -4/+88Who me?
        • bmson, on 06/20/2008, -4/+89Or me?
        • RetroRufio, on 06/20/2008, -3/+45Well done... all of you.
        • Jenadae, on 06/20/2008, -3/+69*plugs controller into port 2*

        • Daggity, on 06/20/2008, -2/+28Schizophrenia isn't MPD.
        • mooseofshadows, on 06/20/2008, -13/+1alright, at the risk of sounding stupid, what game did you have to plug your controller into port two to beat someone?
        • Callidus, on 06/20/2008, -10/+3Metal Gear Solid
        • Mallhew, on 06/20/2008, -9/+2^Metal Gear Solid.
        • f3l1x, on 06/20/2008, -8/+1CRYPTIC METAPHOR!
        • m0zzie, on 06/20/2008, -8/+9sometimes i wake up thinking i'm a cactus :/
        • 007isbond1, on 06/20/2008, -8/+1rofl moment.
        • phantom_mullet, on 06/20/2008, -12/+1*screenshots and submits as "This is why I love Digg"*
        • igraham09, on 06/20/2008, -8/+1wat
        • soapyeyejoe, on 06/20/2008, -10/+2I MADE THE FRONT PAGE!
        • tzilla12, on 06/20/2008, -2/+80I MADE A COMMENT CHAIN THAT WENT NOWHERE !!!!!


          AND NOW IM TAKING UP SPACE THAT SHOULD BE USED TO DISCUSS AN IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC FIND!!!!!!!!


          A.D.D. FTW!!!!
        • tzilla12, on 06/20/2008, -10/+57shut up. you think your so ***** clever.

          ron paul 08!!!!
        • KMartSheriff, on 06/20/2008, -1/+17I do this ***** all the time and people digg down one comment and bury up the other. I wonder if they even notice.
        • AManWithNoName, on 06/20/2008, -5/+10It's not Schizophrenia, and its not MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder) anymore, the real thing is DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder.
        • AManWithNoName, on 06/20/2008, -9/+5You're a ***** buzzkill. It was a joke, there's no need to complain that it's not the right goddamn term. These comments suck.
        • visionaryIX, on 06/20/2008, -0/+21Schizophrenia means you're never lonely.
        • Modestexcuse, on 06/20/2008, -8/+3I'm schizophrenic, and so am I.
        • iEatEmoKidz, on 06/20/2008, -9/+4"schizophrenia means you're never lonely"

          duuude.....that's gonna be my next bumper sticker
    • stalzdiggity, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1steve yzerman was a martian?
  • DeepFriedFetus, on 06/20/2008, -26/+14Suck that religious zealots!
    • Gryffydd, on 06/20/2008, -2/+10Yeah, because God didn't create Mars and all the ice on it...
    • bluesdealer, on 06/20/2008, -2/+11Did I miss something? I've never read anything in any major religion claiming that water, or life for that matter, exists only on Earth.
      • mackii, on 06/20/2008, -7/+4Well I know its not exactly the same, but if you had read the bible, you would have also read that God apparently created all the other heavenly bodies after creating the earth and all the animals.

        But the bible is ***** retarded anyway.
        • sloonark, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2So? How does that mean there is only life on earth?
    • DeepFriedFetus, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Should have put the /sarcasm at the end of that...I suppose I think too highly of the average Digger's intelligence!
  • ZeNiTH456, on 06/20/2008, -23/+14In other news - Coca-Cola announces new bottled water from mars
    • nyx210, on 06/20/2008, -2/+3I wonder how much such a water would cost... $5,000? $50,000?
      • thecheatah, on 06/20/2008, -0/+6Millions
      • ryodoan, on 06/20/2008, -0/+8I am betting it would cost much, much more.

        You have to figure in the cost of getting a spacecraft to mars, recovering water, returning to earth. The volume of ice that you would bring back would be relatively small. Therefore it would probably factor into the millions of dollars per oz.
  • netkrash, on 06/20/2008, -11/+70[N]ICE!!!!!
  • steger, on 06/20/2008, -45/+378God planted the ice to test our faith duh. Just like dinosaur bones, oh and carbon dating too.
    • AtheistPride13, on 06/20/2008, -10/+74maybe the devil put it there to throw us off the path to god
      • nyx210, on 06/20/2008, -16/+2It's evidence of the separation of the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse...thing...!!!
    • Gryffydd, on 06/20/2008, -13/+85I fail to see how this ice would test anyone's faith.
      • Cenobite, on 06/20/2008, -1/+81That's what Vanilla Ice's manager said right before the release of his debut album.
      • IllBeBack, on 06/20/2008, -13/+3"I fail"

        Yes, that is correct.
      • Jacolyte, on 06/20/2008, -7/+25Christians think water is only on earth because a benevolent sky man loves us for some reason.
        • shinythingy, on 06/21/2008, -4/+9No, atheists like you think that we all are under this impression when in reality we aren't.
      • cambob76, on 06/20/2008, -3/+15Why would God put water on Mars if Earth is the center of the universe and man is THE most important life in that universe?
        • imapluralist, on 06/20/2008, -1/+12Duh...cuz he foresaw us leaving the planet and needing water somewhere close. See Proverbs 12:22
        • ReignInMud, on 06/20/2008, -0/+7Because he knew you'd say that
        • tonage, on 06/22/2008, -0/+1Why not?
      • akshayxyz, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1either he is bad with sarcasm or you are too good spotting it!
    • hazard99, on 06/20/2008, -16/+6I'm glad to know you are not taking the words of Televangelists and Traditional christian theology as fact. Your study of these areas, and desire to really know what scripture says is fascinating.

      I still don't know why you all make such broad and ignorant claims and use them as evidence for the bible's inconsistency (in regards to science).

      Its pretty pathetic.
      • DavidGX, on 06/20/2008, -5/+6I find it amusing that you believe in thousand year old myths and fairytales, passing them off as facts and bothering everyone else with them.

        I still don't know why you people are so ***** stupid and gullible, you could at least keep your cultist ***** to yourselves and leave everyone else alone.

        It's pretty pathetic.
      • aptanalogy, on 06/20/2008, -3/+5I've pissed patterns in the snow that are more consistent than the bible. At least I know for sure that all of them came from some source above.

        Also, funny comment of the day: "I still don't know why you ALL make such BROAD and ignorant claims and use them as evidence for the bible's inconsistency (in regards to science)."
        • aptanalogy, on 06/20/2008, -2/+2Oh wait, we're here to test your faith; that's why ALL of us make generalizations about you. We're obviously tools of Satan!
      • Aethirig, on 06/20/2008, -1/+3Normally I enjoy digging down trolls, but this is just sad. Come back when you've got a clue, hazard99.
    • Rippleeffect, on 06/20/2008, -3/+76Where does the Bible say, "And there shalt be no ice on Mars"?
      • tenspeedogbb, on 06/20/2008, -4/+53The same place it says marijuana is wrong, the death penalty is a great idea, and reading Harry Potter is a sleight against God.

        HINT: Nowhere
      • Rikkochet, on 06/20/2008, -2/+5It's at the back somewhere. I read it once but don't remember the exact wording, but it basically said that. Yeeeeaah.
    • Gforce20, on 06/20/2008, -1/+8What we have to realize is that ice doesn't necessarily guarantee life.
      • Modestexcuse, on 06/20/2008, -0/+7What we have here, is failure to communicate.
    • dylio, on 06/20/2008, -4/+12***** flying lizards, you dumb *****. You shoulda known God was ***** with ya'. *pulls lever to open shaft to hell*
      It was all so plausableeeeeeeeeeee!
    • MakiNavaja, on 06/20/2008, -5/+6... to test our faith, huh?

      I'm happy to say I failed that test a long time ago.
    • mistergraves, on 06/21/2008, -2/+6how does ice being on mars help the "anti-creationism" argument? dinosaurs weren't mentioned in the bible! neither where rollie polies einstein! carbon dating has been proven to have holes. BUT HERE WE ARE AGAIN AT THE SAME OLD WORN OUT ARGUMENT THAT DIG LOVES TO START! GROW UP.
      • AtheistPride13, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1Carbon dating is not used to date the earth genious. Potassium Argon is used to date the Earth. Not carbon 12 or carbon 13 not any carbon.
    • tonage, on 06/22/2008, -2/+2steger,
      Perhaps you should comment on the stories rather than show your intolerance of people who believe differently from you?

      I just don't get how stuff like this proves no god anyway. Yea, there are other planets. So? This means there is no god? What?
    • morpheme, on 06/23/2008, -1/+2You sir, are ignorant and annoying
  • Gobo, on 06/20/2008, -12/+4Umm, they've known there was water ice on Mars for ages. There are two big polar ice caps at each of the poles.

    Is this some special kind of ice? Or is it just that they found ice away from the poles?
    • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -1/+14The ice caps are CO2 ice (dry ice), not H2O ice.

      Well technically I should say that the ice caps are both CO2 AND (now confirmed) H2O. But what we usually see as being the ice caps (the white stuff), is dry ice.
      • wazzledoozle2, on 06/20/2008, -4/+1How do they know whether it was CO2 or H20? Both would eventually evaporate/liquidize if brought to the surface.
        • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -0/+3Because they know the temp and the pressure. CO2 and H2O sublime at different temps/pressures.
    • AtheistPride13, on 06/20/2008, -0/+6There is uce on the poles but it is underground they had to confirm it which they have done now. and also now that phoenix is there they can test the ice to see if it has the basic building blocks for life, or if there is microbial life in it already.
    • Gobo, on 06/20/2008, -2/+8Cool, thanks guys!
  • FirstDigg, on 06/20/2008, -12/+3Anyone have a mirror, this site is seriously hurting right now
  • perhapsimcrazy, on 06/20/2008, -2/+94now all we need is scotch and im good to go on the mission.
    • mablung, on 06/20/2008, -0/+8I bet Tony Sinclair is already up there... are you ready to tang... oh never mind. /slap myself
    • MuffinPatrol, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2But what about the little umbrella? That's what makes it a scotch on the rocks!
      • dkapuchino, on 06/20/2008, -0/+11People who drink scotch with a little umbrella deserve to be banished to mars.
      • Haroshia, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2It's a Futurama quote...
    • thirteenthcor, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1You like dirt with your ice?

      See? cause scotch whiskey tastes like... like dirt.... get it? What you connoisseurs call "earthy tones"....I call dirt.


  • GeKKo22, on 06/20/2008, -3/+26just one step closer to proving that primitive life once existed on Mars!
    • dturnbull, on 06/20/2008, -0/+17Until it moved to Earth where it has remained.
      • dkapuchino, on 06/20/2008, -3/+11Dugg up for the canada reference.
      • bosssmiley, on 06/20/2008, -0/+11And continues to watch Fox News and vote Republican to this day.
  • dturnbull, on 06/20/2008, -14/+189But will it blend?
    • tidu, on 06/20/2008, -6/+1We make one of the greatest scientific discoveries in years and we think, can we make water ice out of this?
      • dturnbull, on 06/20/2008, -3/+27You're thinking too hard.

        "But will it blend?" always gets dugg up in the comments if it somehow relates to the story at hand.

        I wanted to be dugg up. That is all.
        • equinoxChild, on 06/20/2008, -0/+22dugg for being honest about posting digg bait.
        • Bananas21ca, on 06/20/2008, -8/+1Just me or did anyone else read that as jailbait?
    • orangekid13, on 06/20/2008, -1/+7are you suggesting that phoenix should make the first margarita in the history of then entire planet of Mars?!?
      dibs!
    • wibambau, on 06/20/2008, -2/+4It will sublimate!
    • McWombo, on 06/20/2008, -2/+2Where is this from? I can't remember.
    • DTFPrime, on 06/21/2008, -0/+0lol after reading that the theme song from all those videos started ringing in my head!
    • Bigzz, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1actually i prefer it shaken
  • bonesoaker, on 06/20/2008, -9/+2next step is to find evidence of prehistoric life!
    • chrgrose, on 06/20/2008, -1/+8prehistoric is a peculiar term to use... that is unless we find clay tablets in the martian soil.
  • AtheistPride13, on 06/20/2008, -0/+31This is one of the most important space missions in years. I hope that they find something that will change the way we look at the universe
    • artofficial, on 06/20/2008, -1/+29pretty sure we'll all still look up.

      ummm... j/k?
    • Haoie, on 06/20/2008, -1/+10I believe they just did.

      Well, at the solar system, anyway.
  • FirstDigg, on 06/20/2008, -9/+24Here are some mirrors

    Image:
    Original: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images/dodo_020_024 ...
    Mirror: http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5650/dodo020024 ...

    Story:
    Bright Chunks At Phoenix Lander's Mars Site Must Have Been Ice

    June 19, 2008 -- Dice-size crumbs of bright material have vanished from inside a trench where they were photographed by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander four days ago, convincing scientists that the material was frozen water that vaporized after digging exposed it.

    "It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."

    The chunks were left at the bottom of a trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" when Phoenix's Robotic Arm enlarged that trench on June 15, during the 20th Martian day, or sol, since landing. Several were gone when Phoenix looked at the trench early today, on Sol 24.

    Also early today, digging in a different trench, the Robotic Arm connected with a hard surface that has scientists excited about the prospect of next uncovering an icy layer.

    The Phoenix science team spent Thursday analyzing new images and data successfully returned from the lander earlier in the day.

    Studying the initial findings from the new "Snow White 2" trench, located to the right of "Snow White 1," Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, co-investigator for the robotic arm, said, "We have dug a trench and uncovered a hard layer at the same depth as the ice layer in our other trench."

    On Sol 24, Phoenix extended the first trench in the middle of a polygon at the "Wonderland" site. While digging, the Robotic Arm came upon a firm layer, and after three attempts to dig further, the arm went into a holding position. Such an action is expected when the Robotic Arm comes upon a hard surface.

    Meanwhile, the spacecraft team at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver is preparing a software patch to send to Phoenix in a few days so scientific data can again be saved onboard overnight when needed. Because of a large amount a duplicative file-maintenance data generated by the spacecraft Tuesday, the team is taking the precaution of not storing science data in Phoenix's flash memory, and instead downlinking it at the end of every day, until the conditions that produced those duplicative data files are corrected.

    "We now understand what happened, and we can fix it with a software patch," said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena. "Our three-month schedule has 30 days of margin for contingencies like this, and we have used only one contingency day out of 24 sols. The mission is well ahead of schedule. We are making excellent progress toward full mission success."

    • dsa202, on 06/20/2008, -3/+1No reason to copy and paste the entire article...
  • Hidama, on 06/20/2008, -19/+3Great. Now I have that Vanilla Ice song stuck in my head.

    Oh, that reminds me:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDU7HsdCotE&feature ...

    I love TMNT.
  • willotoons, on 06/20/2008, -0/+46can we talk about how funny it is that all they could come up with to name the trench is "Dodo-Goldilocks" haha
    • sparrowkc, on 06/20/2008, -0/+9Well sure, I guess. What is your opinion on the subject?
    • huff51, on 06/20/2008, -0/+7goldilocks has to do with the possibility of having life
  • Echad, on 06/20/2008, -15/+3Go Arizona!
  • TheDefiance, on 06/20/2008, -15/+2Ice Ice Baby!
  • ajcrewmisfit, on 06/20/2008, -17/+1Can't wait for the peepz on Venus.Digg to post "Ice on Earth!"
  • manjy90, on 06/20/2008, -4/+100What do people from Arizona know about ice?
  • erazmus, on 06/20/2008, -4/+102Or, maybe, just maybe, martian salt-eating ants arrived at the scene between the first and second image and carried the salt crystals back to their anthill...
    • Erik1, on 06/20/2008, -0/+15That wouldn't be nearly as impressive.
    • SolidSnak, on 06/20/2008, -4/+3well then i guess we have life on mars
    • SolidSnak, on 06/20/2008, -5/+4well then we would have life on mars....which would mean that there would have to be water....
    • captnkurt, on 06/20/2008, -0/+14But don't you see? Salt-eating ants *prove* the existence of water on Mars! Just think how thirsty they must get, eating salt all day long...

    • d4rthsid, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Isn't there supposed to be a transformer in that shot?
  • kookbutt, on 06/20/2008, -17/+1So
  • waveringhobbit, on 06/20/2008, -2/+14Alright! Bring in those beers!
    • seanmc303, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1Now if we only had the Coors Light Silver Bullet train on Mars, we would have one hell of a party. I have seen that train turn normally prudish girls into frisky girls (on a commercial).
  • chrgrose, on 06/20/2008, -7/+60AMERICA -- ***** YEAH!!!

    As a geochemist, this is pretty damn exciting. On the other hand the crystals could have been blown away by wind.
    • Backstab, on 06/20/2008, -0/+22If it was wind, wouldn't the other smaller pieces move slightly at least since it was strong enough to move the large chunks?
      • SatansSpatula, on 06/20/2008, -0/+14Not if it was styrofoam.

        Yep, I want to claim to be the first to put forth the theory that Mars, beneath the thin crust of dirt, is, in fact, entirely made of white styrofoam.
    • chrgrose, on 06/20/2008, -0/+8I take that back, I looked at the pictures and the grains are pretty huge with little other disturbances, so apparently it is sublimation. It might not be water ice though.
      • WolverineBlue, on 06/20/2008, -1/+3I think we'd be even more surprised to find something else that can sublime on the Martian surface. (Water ought to be among the most common compounds in the universe)
        • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -1/+6Why would water be among the most common compounds? We don't really see it very often. Having lots of hydrogen doesn't mean we would have lots of water.
      • kaplanfx, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2methane?
      • sp3kter, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1not cold enough for frozen methane.
        • cruzlee, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2Yup, that's why sublimation occurred.
    • BertEatsDirt, on 06/20/2008, -3/+9How does a planet get wind without oceans & a moon's gravity pulling against the oceans?

      Answer: BAKED BEANS LOL
    • amightywind, on 06/20/2008, -3/+1As a geochemist I would have hoped you would have a more substantive comment. A clump that large cannot be entrained by even a strong Martian wind.
      • chrgrose, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2as I said earlier, I didn't see the before/after before the first comment.
  • jabberwolf, on 06/20/2008, -15/+6SIMPLE!
    check atmosphere check temperature
    Put in container... apply heat.
    If melts at 33 degrees and then boils at 100 degrees (or temp at which atmosphere compensates for both)
    then it's water!

    THAT is perfect evidence!
    • chrgrose, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2yeah you need to gauge pressure for that sort of test. Not sure if they have the equiptment for that test though.
    • legendxx, on 06/20/2008, -10/+4Did you fail science class? If ice melts at 33 it isn't going to boil at 100 dumbass. Use Celsius if you're going to make idiotic statements like that.
      • dlsspy, on 06/20/2008, -1/+4"Use Celsius if you're going to make idiotic statements like that."

        To be fair, he corrected himself towards the end of the sentence.
    • Chassit, on 06/20/2008, -1/+11How about 32°F to freeze and 212°F to boil?
    • swern425, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2Water's melting point is 0°C due to the very nature of it only being solid below that temperature. Freezing point = melting point.
    • AdibT, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2one of the stupidest comments on digg for a long time.
  • lololol1, on 06/20/2008, -2/+53Go Humans!
  • johnsonhr, on 06/20/2008, -1/+8I guess if we ever run out of fresh water, we now know were to get some.
    also: "Do-do Goldilocks." Give whoever thought of that a raise!
  • blackgrape, on 06/20/2008, -11/+111Some will point to it as evidence of Mars global warming. And tax it.
    • BertEatsDirt, on 06/20/2008, -11/+4I point to your comment as evidence that you suck *****
  • ThrowDirt, on 06/20/2008, -11/+1That ***** be melt'n yo!!!
  • kittenman, on 06/20/2008, -9/+2Wait, wait, it's not perfect evidence please, it could be another substance, not necessary H2O, if you have learn chemistry a little, it could be another substance with similar freezing point!
  • ibone, on 06/20/2008, -15/+2Hai Guise! Say it with me! 1... 2... 3...


    Dry Ice! C02! Woo woo!
    • Backstab, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2The phoenix's twitter says its water ice.
  • DiggCrusher, on 06/20/2008, -13/+35the martians are pissed off that we landed right on top of their coke stash
    • imapluralist, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2Yeah...and now they're laughing and talking too fast.
  • ilbbaicl, on 06/20/2008, -16/+3I, for one, welcome our new Ice World overlords.
  • teekay87, on 06/20/2008, -1/+11This is amazing
  • BD86, on 06/20/2008, -10/+2Can Ice melt at -25.6F?
  • aptanalogy, on 06/20/2008, -1/+44I'm hoping that they find organic compounds next.
  • kevman459, on 06/20/2008, -0/+76Now all we need to find is the underground alien machine that vaporizes the ice to turn it into a breathable atmosphere.
    • diggdon, on 06/20/2008, -6/+14I'm sure you were just kidding, (alluding to Total Recall) but I don't want you to set people's knowledge backwards. Vaporized water produces H2O not O2. H2O is of no use when breathing it. In fact, breathing it will scaled your lungs, at least at 1 atmospheric pressure.

      How many times have we heard "water on Mars" and it came back as a false alarm. Will people ever learn to temper their hopes with evidence and history?
      • Louis11, on 06/20/2008, -0/+13"H2O is of no use when breathing it"

        I'm sorry, I was under the impression you could breath H2O without any problems what so ever . . . lol
      • fandyboy, on 06/20/2008, -0/+4SEE YOU AT THE PARTY RICHTER
    • artofficial, on 06/20/2008, -0/+4luckily we have still have Arnie.
      • jpop, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1Until he "Get's his ahhhssss to Maaaaaaahhhhhssss"
  • tralfaz2001, on 06/20/2008, -24/+19Sorry to be a party pooper, but just because its white, and just because it vanishes, either by sublimation or, melting and draining away, doesn't make it water. Yes it might be water, but maybe not. Frozen CO2 would appear to do the exact same thing. Though temperature/pressure conditions may preclude CO2.

    I'll wait for a definitive chemical analysis before whooping it up. Well actually I won't whoop it up even then. I well say to myself, "Innnnnnterrrressssting" though.
    • heliox, on 06/20/2008, -2/+5Definitive testing..Does it mix well with Vodka?
    • legendxx, on 06/20/2008, -2/+13Buzz-killington, is that you?
      • MasterGrief, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2BuzzBuzzBuzzKillington-to-the-rescue
    • teddtech, on 06/20/2008, -3/+37Wow now that's a revelation! I'm sure the rocket scientists at NASA never thought about that!
      • opmike, on 06/20/2008, -1/+18The same thing could have been said about basic unit conversion.

        I kid, I kid.
      • suckaPU, on 06/20/2008, -1/+6the rocket scientists actually work on the rockets that send the probe to mars, they don't really work with the probe itself
        • lintmonkey, on 06/20/2008, -2/+8Oh, you think you're soo smart. Who do you think you are, some kind of rocke-- er.. uhh... smart... person?
        • ObeseSnake, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1O RLY?
      • GunOfSod, on 06/20/2008, -1/+5You mean the same rocket scientists thaty now have to upload software patches to stop data duplication?

        My immeadiate thought was dry ice as well, we already know that's there
    • bluesdealer, on 06/20/2008, -1/+17Yes, you are far too intellectual to "whoop it up" and too cool to be excited by anything. That must suck.
    • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -1/+11Except that H2O and CO2 have different sublimation pressures and temperatures.
      • BriFi, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2honest question: what causes H2O to sublimate under conditions like mars?
        • kendog235, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1I would say low pressure
        • dopplerdog, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1It's low pressure, as kendog said, and low atmospheric humidity. H2O would normally evaporate, even on Earth - but a low concentration of gaseous H2O in the atmosphere moves the evaporation/condensation equilibrium point in such a way that H2O does not remain long in liquid form.

          This effectively means that there could be lots of H2O in the surface, trapped in solid form, which could be released to the atmosphere if only slightly heated (eg by exposure to the sun).
        • matt510, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2I think I would disagree with dopplerdog a bit. It isn't that the water is just in liquid form for a short time, it is that it is actually sublimating. That doesn't have to do with the gaseous H2O in the atmosphere, it just has to do with the extremely low pressure.
    • ophello, on 06/20/2008, -6/+3the spot the phoenix landed at is currently experiencing summer. the CO2 IS GONE, and WON'T RETURN TIL WINTER. its too warm for CO2, mr "i need proof".

      tell ya what...leave the thinking to the NASA scientists on this one, ok?

      in the meantime, why dont you think about what it means now that we know there is water on mars.
      • sc0rpi0n, on 06/20/2008, -0/+6Dude, tune down and go easy on fellow digger.
        • mandolin45, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0second. not an isolated entry -- comment history is embarrassing.
    • Meursault, on 06/20/2008, -6/+2**** whoop whoop whoop ****

      Douchebag detected!

      Best day ever!
    • zman1117, on 06/20/2008, -3/+1Also, maybe they could have just be salt that got blown away in between shots. But then the rest of the particles around stayed the same, so that might not be it. Another thing, theres 2 chunks on the right that look like the "ice" that sublimated. Why didn't that sublimate also?

      What he said, I'll wait for a chemical analysis.
      • opmike, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Based on what you said in your post, and the absolutely riveting theories you postulated therin, I don't think you'd be able to understand the chemical analysis.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 100 of 165 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.