NASA claims to have found water ice on Mars. Time lapse photography of a trench dug by the MarsPhoenix lander shows that small chunks of “bright material” have disappeared. According to investigators, the material must have been H2O ice for it to have sublimated over the course of 4 days.
…the white stuff cannot be CO2 ice because the phase change diagram for carbon dioxide shows that at the reported temperature ( -32 degrees C ) and pressure, CO2 is a vapor.
Bright Chunks At Phoenix Lander’s Mars Site Must Have Been Ice – Phoenix Mars Mission Home news release, June 19, 2008
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This was an enormous discovery. Mars has got to be one of the most tantalizing prizes for scientists. I think a human being will set foot on Mars in our lifetimes.
I think we might find discoveries on Mars in the next few years that will overshadow even this finding.
It’s surprising how little we know about our neighboring planets.