by Jeremy Rutherfurd

Created on: September 30, 2008

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snowfall from Martian clouds high in the atmosphere, a statement released by the space agency on Sept. 29, 2008, said.

A laser tool built to probe how the atmosphere and surface interact on Mars detected the snow about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) above the landing site, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The snow vaporized before it hit the ground.

"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," Jim Whiteway, lead scientist for the Canadian-supplied meteorological station on Phoenix, said in the statement. "We'll be looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground."

Soil experiments on the lander have also provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water in Martian soil, processes that occur on Earth, NASA said.

Since its May 25 landing on Mars, Phoenix has found water-ice to be present in the hard subsurface layer of soil at its far-northern landing site.

Discovering whether that ice thaws would fulfill a key aim of the mission: determining whether the environment has ever been favorable for life.

Finding ice on Mars did not come as a complete surprise, according to Space.com, as satellite observations of the planet as far back as 2001 indicated the presence of ice beneath the planet's surface. ("Proof! Water Ice Found on Mars," June 20, 2008, Space.com)

But this was the first confirmation of that finding by a land-based probe.

On June 26 the first wet-chemistry, or liquid-phase, analysis of Martian soil was done by the Phoenix.

"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," Sam Kounaves, science lead for the wet chemistry investigation, said in a statement.

"This soil appears to be a close analog to surface soils found in the upper dry valleys in Antarctica," he said.

Another interesting recent development was the detection of dust devils near the Phoenix.

The lander photographed several as they danced across the arctic plain and sensed a dip in air pressure as one passed nearby.

Sources:

"NASA Mars Lander Sees Falling Snow, Soil Data Suggest Liquid Past," Sept. 29, 2008, Nasa.gov Web site:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index .html

"NASA's Martian Probe Spots Snowfall in Skies Over Red Planet," Sept. 30, 2008, Bloomberg.com:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aS4kuLprfLaI

"Proof! Water Ice Found on Mars," June 20, 2008, Space.com:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080620-phoenix -ice-update.html

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