Phoenix Finds 'Garden Soil'

> phoenix team's take on the presence or absence of organics?

Got some kind of weak or ambiguous signature. Still working on confirming it. Need to test organic-free blank. Not yet able to "claim" organics. Certainly not a lot if present.

> OM or the AFM and their results?

They have a dozen or more AFM, only showed two. Are using OM and AFM to confirm the identity of phyllosilicates, crystals, and carbonates.

The AP article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080929/ap_on_sc/phoenix_mars;_ylt=Ak2ETOI.yxp5zSoKKL_rvEj737YB has an interesting way of putting it:

"LOS ANGELES - NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has discovered two minerals on Mars that suggest water was there in the past.

Scientists reported Monday that the minerals — carbon carbonate and sheet silicate — don't usually form without the presence of liquid water."

Carbon carbonate sounds particularly interesting. Who knew that Martian chemistry could be so different from Earth's?

Hi All

At the press conference today Dr Smith seemed to be leaning once again to the habitability aspect of the phoenix soil and perhaps the garden soil idea might be resuscitated.

Am looking forward to the eventual publication of all the elements, radicles, etc. found by the various instruments, especially if N has been seen.

Also, have any bad superoxides, the ones which eat up all organics on Mars, been identified? Also, what is the spatial distribution of the perchlorides in the soil? How widespread are they?

Winston

According to this post

http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=5420&view=findpost&p=127231

TEGA is unable to detect nitrogen. Since in WCL, the nitrate signature would be masked, it is not clear that the Phoenix instrumentation has any remaining way to determine nitrogen content. Say, maybe the fact the compressed nitrogen "inert propellant" mechanism has stopped working may allow them to check for nitogen after all?