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Time will tell, says Ray Arvidson, a member of the Phoenix science team. He is watching the newly exposed white patches to see how and whether they change. “If the material is ice, it should change with time,” he says. “Frost may form on it, or it could slowly sublimate." When a substance sublimates, it turns from a solid into a gas.
Phoenix is the latest spacecraft from Earth to explore the Red Planet. It spent 10 months in space and then parachuted down to Mars’s cold, dusty surface on May 25. Earlier this month, Phoenix had trouble taking soil samples. The dirt was too clumpy, and Phoenix’s 8–foot–long robotic arm couldn’t take it in to study it. But scientists engineered a way to shake the dirt through a screen on the lander.
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Scientists are hopeful that Phoenix will find water. Another Mars mission, the Mars Odyssey Orbiterdetected signs of water ice under the surface in 2002. But that mission stayed in orbit around the planet. Phoenix is on the ground and can tell directly whether there is water in the dirt. Scientists are interested in finding water because on Earth, water is necessary for life. If life ever existed on Mars, it probably needed water too.
Last week, the first results from Phoenix's ovens gave no sign of water. But the scientists weren’t surprised. It took so long to get the dirt into the oven that the ice could have sublimated. They are eager to see the results of new tests taking place over the coming weeks. “There could be real discoveries to come as we analyze this soil with our various instruments," says Peter Smith, another member of the Phoenix team. “We have just the right instruments for the job.”
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