Water on Mars Confirmed by Mars Phoenix

The Mars Phoenix lander has discovered definite proof of water on Mars, according to the Washington Post. The Mars Phoenix scooped a sample of soil from the Martian surface and heated it in a special oven. Scientists noted that part of the sample evaporated at the freezing point of water. Sensors also indicated that the vapor was composed of H2O.

Scientists have surmised the existence of water on Mars for decades. The orbital probes have imaged channels of what were assumed to be former rivers and streams on the Martian surface. Scientists have determined that there was water on Mars billions of years ago, when Mars has far more surface water and a thicker atmosphere than it does currently.

The Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have detected evidence of past water, having rolled through some on the channels presumed to be ancient river beds and having examined sedimentary rocks that are formed by the flow of water on Mars. A few weeks ago, the Mars Phoenix lander unearthed a white substance just below the Martian surface that subsequently vanished, presumed to be water ice that then evaporated when exposed to the Sun.

The discovery of water on Mars has two exciting implications.

The first implication is that the presence of water on Mars suggests the presence of microbial life of some kind on Mars. Finding Martian microbes may not be as exciting to the average person as finding Marvin the Martian, but for astrobiologists it would be the biggest discovery in history. Life on Mars would be proof that life has evolved on another world beside our own Earth, with all of the scientific and philosophical implications therein.