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In the trenches  (Source: NASA)
The NASA Phoenix Mars Lander may have found ice

The NASA Phoenix Mars Lander has reportedly found dice-sized ice crumbs that may have melted after being uncovered more than four days ago.  As Phoenix dug around and took images of the Martian soil, scientists noticed several small cubes that vanished over a span of a several days.

"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 possible ice was found in a small trench, "Dodo-Goldilocks," which was made larger by a robotic arm on Phoenix.  

Working in a different trench nearby, Phoenix's arm found a hard surface that could be an icy layer, as scientists continue to try and determine if Mars could have been suitable for life.

Scientists have long debated amongst themselves as to whether or not the Red Planet of Mars had signs of liquid ice - one of the main goals of the Phoenix mission.  In 2002, the NASA Mars Odyssey was used to discover a permanent ice cap at the Martian north pole, with scientists believing a larger amount of ice is directly underneath the planet's surface.

NASA's next goal will be to try and collect samples of the water so instruments aboard Phoenix will be able to examine it.  A drill on the robotic arm could be used to break a small sample of the hard surface so it can be transferred to one of Phoenix's ovens.  

The discoveries come one day after Phoenix lost a day of productivity because of a glitch in which Phoenix's computer memory was full of the same image mistakenly copied repeatedly.  Engineers will send a patch over the weekend to make sure the same mistake does not happen again.

The Phoenix lander arrived on Mars on May 25 and is almost one month into a scheduled 90-day mission.

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Cool!
By retrospooty on 6/20/2008 9:44:30 AM , Rating: 5
Just add rum & coke and I'm there. Let the funding commence.




RE: Cool!
By spuddyt on 6/20/08, Rating: -1
RE: Cool!
By phazers on 6/20/2008 10:03:03 AM , Rating: 5
Somehow, "Dodo-Goldilocks" doesn't strike me as a party destination, no matter how much rum & coke they serve :)


RE: Cool!
By MAIA on 6/20/2008 11:49:18 AM , Rating: 2
Me neither ...

Sounds like a nickname i once eard: "Dildo-Bullocks"

Anyway ....


RE: Cool!
By therealnickdanger on 6/20/2008 10:39:44 AM , Rating: 1
Well, if McCain is being honest about missions to Mars (and if he gets elected), you may just get your wish!


RE: Cool!
By wrekd on 6/20/2008 7:56:00 PM , Rating: 5
if McCain=true
{
Mars();
HellFreezeOver();
}
else
{
WarOnDrugs();
WarOnTerror();
WarOnPrivacy();
WarOnBillOfRights();
WarOnConstitution();
IncreaseCorporateTaxBreaks();
}


RE: Cool!
By retrospooty on 6/20/2008 9:26:34 PM , Rating: 2
LOL...


RE: Cool!
By MBlueD on 6/21/2008 3:19:22 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
if McCain = true


Not much of a choice here :)


RE: Cool!
By Garreye on 6/21/2008 9:12:16 AM , Rating: 3
haha true enough...where your code indentation tho, come on!


RE: Cool!
By wrekd on 6/21/2008 10:34:51 AM , Rating: 2
Hehe I tried, but posting removes the white space. Once you hit preview it disappears.


RE: Cool!
By Screwballl on 6/21/2008 9:26:52 PM , Rating: 1
if Obama=true
{
Taxes();
MoreTaxes();
}
else
{
WarOnDrugs();
WarOnTerror();
WarOnPrivacy();
WarOnBillOfRights();
WarOnConstitution();
IncreaseCorporateTaxBreaks();
IncreaseTaxes();
run=Depression
}
else
{
CivilWar();
}

I will take option #1 aka McCain


RE: Cool!
By monitorjbl on 6/22/2008 1:46:23 AM , Rating: 2
You've got an else with no if, gcc would scream at you. I won't though.


RE: Cool!
By JBlongz on 6/30/2008 9:03:11 PM , Rating: 2
You Fool! That doesn't even compile.

if McCain=true
{
Taxes();
MoreTaxes();
}
else
{
Enforced Drafting();
More Troops in Iraq();
War in Iran();
Nuclear Attack from North Korea();
}
else
{
Stock Market Crash;
run = Martial Law();
this.will happen
}

I will take the only option...Obama. BTW, the clintons have always made good long term choices. Supporting Obama keeps the record. :)


RE: Cool!
By johnadams on 6/22/2008 1:19:45 AM , Rating: 2
Haha fyi as what Garreye mentioned, McCain will always evaluate to true no matter what. In C/C++ '=' is an assignment not a comparison operator unless overloaded to do funny things. In this case it will always evaluate to true.

Maybe that's what wrekd intended either way got a good laugh out of it. Funny and clever LOL!


RE: Cool!
By wrekd on 6/22/2008 8:25:35 AM , Rating: 2
Damn, your right.

It should have been more like...

if (McCain==true && McCainElected==true)


RE: Cool!
By fic2 on 6/20/2008 12:59:48 PM , Rating: 3
I say they don't get additional funding until they find cookie crumbs.


RE: Cool!
By Bruneauinfo on 6/20/2008 4:33:56 PM , Rating: 2
i thought perhaps they were sugar cubes.

can we go now?


RE: Cool!
By Alfax on 6/20/2008 4:27:43 PM , Rating: 2
All we need to do is find oil up there and we will be up there in no time


Problems
By Ammohunt on 6/20/08, Rating: 0
RE: Problems
By KaiserCSS on 6/20/2008 11:32:57 AM , Rating: 2
I agree. I mean, filling up it's memory with the same image copied over and over?

Seems to me like a ridiculously small flaw to overlook...


RE: Problems
By MAIA on 6/20/2008 11:51:38 AM , Rating: 3
Yeah, you're right ...

Then you have some failed probes as well, like the Beagle 2.

I only wish the decepticons leave phoenix alone.