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Walking in a Martian Winter Wonderland
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More amazing news from the Mars Phoenix Lander--it's snowing on Mars! Using its laser beam, Phoenix detected snowfall 2.5 miles above Mars's surface.
The snow vaporized before landing on the Red Planet, but still--snow on Mars? Looking like a somewhat lumpy tangelo, Mars has long been believed to be a dry, dusty planet--until Phoenix tasted water, and found evidence of erosion from water channels.
"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway, of York University, Toronto, which oversees the meteorological experiments on NASA's Phoenix lander.
"We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground."
The spacecraft is on the northern polar region of Mars assessing if conditions were suitable for life to evolve. So far, it has confirmed the existence of water-ice and provided clues that the soil contains clays which, on Earth anyway, only form in the presence of water.
Scientists believe water must be available for life to take root.
Good grief, Charlie Brown! It looks like once again, Phoenix sends echoes back to the old debate about canals on Mars.
The Phoenix lander has been so successful that NASA managers again extended its mission, this time beyond September. Phoenix will be allowed to explore and take samples as long as power from its solar arrays holds out.
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