Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

NASA extends Phoenix mission as snow falls on Mars

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA extended the mission of the busy Phoenix lander Monday, saying it will operate the lander until it dies in the cold and dark of the Martian winter.

It is already snowing there, above the equivalent of the Arctic circle on Mars, the researchers said.

The explorer found evidence that the dust on the surface of Mars resembles seawater in its chemical makeup, adding to evidence that liquid water that once may have supported life flowed on the planet's surface.

Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator at the University of Arizona, said Mars wobbles more than Earth does as it spins, so sometimes the poles are pointed directly at the sun. They would be warmer at those times, perhaps warm enough to melt the ice that Phoenix has confirmed lies just below the red dust.

"If you were to sweep away this thin soil layer on what looks like this flat plain you would find it is more like a skating rink," Smith said.

"Is this a habitable zone on Mars? I think we are approaching this hypothesis," he added.

Smith said the scientists plan to turn on a microphone that was supposed to record the lander's descent in May but which failed to do so. "We are going to try and turn on this microphone and try to listen to Mars for the first time," he said.