Comments on: Phoenix gets more time to drink Martian water!

By: Mars trip would exceed NASA’s radiation limits | world science,encyclopedia of physics formulas

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:17:45 +0000

[...] Contact Reestablished, Spirit is Alive! | Universe Today Space Politics » Hearing reminders Phoenix gets more time to drink Martian water! | Bad Astronomy | Discover M.. Matthew Yglesias » NASA vs. Obama liquid Water on Mars Discussion – Mars Rover Blog and [...]

By: Torbjörn Larsson, OM

Torbjörn Larsson, OM — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:50:04 +0000

FWIW, catching up on old threads:

@ Tom Marking:

The Viking experiments did not assume oxygen had anything to do with the metabolism of Martian life.

I said oxidative metabolism, not that it was based on oxygen as oxidative agent. The funny thing is that the description you point to is describing just such, as carbon-fixating photosynthesis.

By: Mars, life, the White House, and rumors | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:59 +0000

[...] well, you know how I feel about Mars and rumors (or any space-based rumors in general). This one smells like baloney to [...]

By: quasidog

quasidog — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:52:37 +0000

@Phil : “There were some rumors floating around yesterday that NASA would announce that Phoenix confirmed the presence of water ice on Mars. This rumor made me laugh– we’ve known about this ice being water (and not, say, frozen CO2 or some other substance) for quite some time. What Phoenix can do is confirm this, but that’s basically just a further confirmation of something we already were pretty sure about.”

Being sure is one thing for someone ‘in the know’. For the general populous and the skeptics however, you can never have too much confirmation. More evidence removes more doubt from those with little knowledge on the subject.

Your not asking me to have um .. faith … in scientists that a ‘pretty sure’, right ? More conclusive evidence … more ! jks

By: The Boss

The Boss — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:03:04 +0000

Dear Ryan,
You’re fired.
The Boss

By: Something else? « Communion Of Dreams

Something else? « Communion Of Dreams — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:28:14 +0000

[...] this week confirmed the existence of water ice at the location of the lander. News, yes, but as others have noted, scientists have had little doubt that there was water ice on Mars for quite some [...]

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:43:52 +0000

I have to agree with Paul. This is an extremely important step. No one has ever detected water directly on Mars. It has been deduced or indirectly shown to exist. Now it’s certain. What is even more impressive: this was the dry sample. Because the other two samples they tried to test were clumpy, probably due to water, they went to a drier sample. Speculating on this, it could mean water is more pervasive and easy to get to, a better case for any Mars base.

And for those who had not heard, the reason they put the ice sample off was because the short problem had been resolved, although from what I’ve read no one knows exactly how.