Hi BarsoomerThanks for the link in you...

Hi Barsoomer

Thanks for the link in your #424. The plot thickens. It looks like the TECP was/is capable of identifying moisture therefore it may be that the conditions changed significantly from the taking of the first sample to the others. Were the times of the day when the samples were taken comparable? Was the TECP probe placed at the same relative points in the soil to when it made the forst positive sample? Could there be some significant effect on the soil caused by the landing jets? etc.

Perhaps, as was suggested, the later samples were all taken when there was much more than expected water vapour in the atmosphere and it all condensed into ice directly and so the TECP could not recognize it. I prefer that presumption to the "too little moisture" one as we can all see that there is lots of moisture there above and below the surface.

Winston