National Ledger - Mysterious Photos: What is the "White Stuff" on Mars NASA Has Found

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By Jeff Freeland Jun 20, 2008

Mysterious photos from Mars have revealed some "White Stuff" and the Phoenix Mars Lander from NASA may have just discovered ice on the red planet. "There's something very unusual about this soil, from a place on Mars we've never been before," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona-Tucson.

What is the "White Stuff" on Mars NASA Has Found

An animated image of the "White Stuff" from MSNBC shows dice-sized bits of ice in the lower left corner of a trench dug by the robotic scoop on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander. Scientists say they know the bits were ice because they disappeared from view in later imagery.

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According to New Scientist.Com the Phoenix mission scientists are "delighted that the lander has touched water ice, because the spacecraft's main goal is to find out the history of water on Mars and assess whether the planet has ever been hospitable to life. NASA plans to release more details of the new findings as they become available. The incredible animated photo is here, is it ice?

The lander is studying whether the arctic region of Mars could be habitable. The probe is using its robotic arm to dig up soil samples and bake them in an oven for further analysis.

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