The unanticipated discovery of a mineral in Mars’ arctic soil doesn’t rule out the possibility that the red planet could support life, scientists with the Phoenix lander said today.
While cautioning that the discovery of perchlorate, an oxidizing agent found in rocket fuel, still had to be confirmed by more experiments, scientists with the UA-led Phoenix Mars Mission rejected speculation that the mineral’s presence killed the possibility of life on the planet.
“These compounds are quite stable and don’t destroy organic compounds,” said Peter Smith, the UA’s lead scientist for the mission. “This is an important piece in the puzzle and it is neither good nor bad for life.” While perchlorate can be hazardous to some life forms on Earth, others use the molecules for life, including in remote arid desert regions.
“The interesting thing is perchlorate is a relatively inert oxidant,” said Richard Quinn, a mission scientist. “There are some microbes that use it as an energy source.”
Scientists debate the meaning of mineral found on Mars Arizona Daily Star
Roadrunner first-graders present ‘Vacation on Mars’ Arizona Daily Star
It’s possible that science was never so musical. First-graders at Roadrunner Elementary this week presented “Vacation on Mars,” a Broadway-style musical complete with choreography, costumes, props and sets – and all of it helped them learn the first-grade state science standards. In two performances for the school during the day and one showing on Tuesday evening for the parents, the children opened by singing “Mars, Mars,” and ran through other space-themed songs.
Big risks, rewards in 2007 mission Arizona Daily Star
Winning the largest single grant in UA history for a 2007 mission to Mars against stiff competition sounds easy when compared with safely landing the $300 million spacecraft on the surface of the Red Planet. A soft touchdown for the spacecraft dubbed the Phoenix mission was the main topic at the first formal meeting of mission scientists held this week, said William Boynton, UA cosmochemist and co-principal investigator for the mission.