Looks like we’ll have to bring parkas and mittens – Phoenix has spotted falling snow on Mars:
NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft has discovered evidence of past water at its Martian landing site and spotted falling snow for the first time, scientists reported Monday. Soil experiments revealed the presence of two minerals known to be formed in liquid water. Scientists identified the minerals as calcium carbonate, found in limestone and chalk, and sheet silicate…
A laser aboard the Phoenix recently detected snow falling from clouds more than two miles above its home in the northern arctic plains. The snow disappeared before reaching the ground.
Phoenix landed in the Martian arctic plains in May on a three-month mission to study whether the environment could be friendly to microbial life. One of its biggest discoveries so far is confirming the presence of ice on the planet.
Scientists long suspected frozen water was buried in the northern plains based on measurements from an orbiting spacecraft. The lander also found that the soil was slightly alkaline and contained important nutrients and minerals.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that there is water ice and snow near the Martian poles — we can see and measure the evidence from orbit, mixed in with the dry ice. Unlike Spirit and Opportunity generating new and unexpected data about the Martian surface, or the assorted orbiters showing us the surface at a level of detail or in ways we haven’t seen before, Phoenix seems to be more focused on confirming some of the fundamental things that we knew should be happening but had yet to observe directly. Which may not be quite as engaging as the ongoing saga of the rovers or as fascinating as the eye candy from the orbiters, but it’s no less valuable a task.