Kounaves added that he was "flabbergasted" about the finding.
It's thrilling news indeed, even if you don't care for asparagus. Because even if there was no life on Mars in the past - and this finding certainly makes it more likely that there was - a soil hospitable to life is a big step towards the terraforming of Mars, or making it hospitable for current human life.
The Martian atmosphere is still too thin, the water picture not yet clear (ice may have been found, just beneath the surface), but the soil beneath our feet on Mars is an excellent foundation indeed for extending our world on Earth to our neighbor to the "north" in the solar system.
3 comments:
Wow! I think I'll stay onEarth but it is amazing! I hope you have a great weekend!
NASA scientists are pretty excited about the initial results of the Phoenix Mars lander's "flawless" first wet chemistry experiment which has revealed the Red Planet's soil to be "a close analog to surface soils found in the upper dry valleys in Antarctica", as wet chemistry lead investigator Sam Kounaves put it.
With 80 per cent of said test - carried out in the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) - done and dusted, Kounaves explained: "The alkalinity of the soil at this location is definitely striking. At this specific location, one-inch into the surface layer, the soil is very basic, with a pH of between eight and nine. We also found a variety of components of salts that we haven't had time to analyze and identify yet, but that include magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride.
"This is more evidence for water because salts are there. We also found a reasonable number of nutrients, or chemicals needed by life as we know it. Over time, I've come to the conclusion that the amazing thing about Mars is not that it's an alien world, but that in many aspects, like mineralogy, it's very much like Earth."
Thanks for the heads-up, Top Soil - that's exciting news indeed!
Let's hope that, before too long, some of your supplies are available on Mars.
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