Bruce A. Miller
An analyst born 53 days before NASA. Currently spending my time developing and writing for this site and attempting to write a novel that's worth reading. A midwesterner now living in the southeast.
1. Conventional wisdom suggests that present day Mars is a barren and desolate world incapable of supporting even the simplest forms of life. This is a notion which the composite panoramic photograph above does nothing to dispel. In keeping with that assumption, robotic missions sent to the red planet…
The controversial observation could be explained by the mission's previous discovery of perchlorate salts in the soil, since the salts can keep water liquid at sub-zero temperatures. Researchers say this antifreeze effect makes it possible for liquid water to be widespread just below the surface of Mars, but point out that even if it is there, it may be too salty to support life as we know it.
A few days after Phoenix landed on 25 May 2008, it sent back an image showing mysterious splotches of material attached to one of its legs. Strangely, the splotches grew in size over the next few weeks, and Phoenix scientists have been debating the origin of the objects ever since.
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.

An analyst born 53 days before NASA. A midwesterner now living in the southeast.