White House Briefed: Life Could Exist On Mars

A day after NASA announced it had officially discovered water on Mars (again), the agency alerted the White House that it has plans to make another announcement soon. This one pertains to major new discoveries made by the Phoenix lander that indicate the "potential for life" on the red planet according to Aviation Week & Space Technology. Sources say they have not discovered past or present life on Mars, only the potential for the planet to support life at the site of the Phoenix lander. While the recent discussion of the "discovery" of water has consumed the worldwide media, scientists indicate that more complex data not openly discussed yet contains much more "provocative" results. Allegedly much of this information was specifically withheld so NASA could present these findings to the White House and prepare a further announcement. The Presidential Science Advisor's office in the Bush Administration was informed of this new data as NASA hopes to release it publicly by mid-month or early September as further analysis allows. Scientific instruments on Phoenix do have the capability to detect organic life at the bacterial level, although NASA has said this has not occurred (yet).



(Aviation Week)

Home to PointNiner

Phoenix starts digging up Mars

The Phoenix Mars lander finally got its first scoop of Martian dirt yesterday. The image above was taken as a closeup of the scoop of dirt and was illuminated with LEDs. The tiny white particles are suspected to be either ice or salt. The bottom photo shows where the dirt was removed, an area referred to as "the Knave of Hearts." NASA should have Phoenix begin running tests on the dirt soon to determine composition. If only I could get one that scoops up dog poop.



Home to PointNiner

Phoenix survives shear terror of landing on Mars, NASA breathes again

Well those rocket scientists at NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have done it again. The Phoenix Mars Lander successfully planted itself on the surface of the Red Planet around 23:53 Zulu this evening. Nice job, guys. Next step, start diggin' up that red dirt to look for signs of ice, and ultimately, life.

Home to PointNiner