Brrr! Mars Colder Than Expected

[liveweatherman]

Peering beneath the ice at the north pole of Mars has now revealed the red planet may be surprisingly colder than was thought.

Any liquid water that might exist on Mars therefore might be hidden deeper than once suspected, closer to that world's warm heart, researchers suggested.

An international team of scientists used the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to probe the north pole of the red planet with radar. The ice cap there goes about 1.2 miles deep (2 km) and is roughly the size of Pakistan at 310,000 square miles large (800,000 square km).

These scans revealed the polar cap has up to four layers of ice rich in sand and dust, each separated by clearer sheets of nearly pure ice. Each dirty and clean layer is some 1,000 feet thick (300 meters). continue

[HURAKAN]

If the ice is water. Great. But if the ice is dry ice (CO2), then we have a problem for possible futuristic human explorations of the red planet. Lets hope Phoenix can tell us.

[liveweatherman]

Yep Phoenix main mission to mars in to study it's geologic history of water which perhaps hope to unlock the history of climate zone and if mars can be a habitual zone..Phoenix's instruments are suitable of uncovering info on the geological and possibly the biological history of the Martian Arctic..Hope Phoenix will be able to survive the Martian Winter in order to witness the polar ice developing..So much expectations for Phoenix..This coming May 25 will be the scheduled of Phoenix to land on Mars..Hope things will turned out good...

[x-y-no]

If the ice is water. Great. But if the ice is dry ice (CO2), then we have a problem for possible futuristic human explorations of the red planet. Lets hope Phoenix can tell us.

If I recall correctly, the north pole is water ice, the south pole is mostly dry ice.

[liveweatherman]

NASA news briefings, live commentary and updates before and after the scheduled Sunday, May 25 arrival of the agency's Phoenix Mars Lander will be available on NASA Television and on the Web.

Entry, descent and landing begins at 4:46 p.m. PDT on May 25, when the flight team listens for radio signals indicating that Phoenix has entered the top of the Martian atmosphere. The spacecraft must perform a series of challenging transformations and activities during the seven minutes after it enters the atmosphere to slow it from 12,000 mph to 5 mph and a soft touchdown. The Phoenix team will be watching for radio signals confirming the landing at 4:53 p.m. More than half of previous international attempts to land on Mars have been continue

Were going to witness another event that will be marked in the history...