Have they ruled out the possibility that the “bright material” is paint or other material (e.g., zinc, cadmium, stainless steel, etc.) transferred from the back of the scoop to the soil (i.e., Earth material and not Martian material)? I don’t know if the scoop is metal or polymer, but I assume it’s metal. I’m just asking here, but it kinda looks like paint transfer from a new shovel to me.

I am so excited about this! I only ask that you please share with us your findings in layman terms..life , no life, past life, building blocks for life, etc….From a housemom take I’d say the white reminds me of the inside of rocks broken on our hiking trail…would think H2O would be there..but who knows (hmm..NASA does)…
Glad to see the dirt is in though, and glad your recieving lots of info. Someone watch Mr. Smith , that he doesn’t get too excited over this as I suspect greater things are coming

Bless all of you who made this possible! Its in these primitive times that in the distant future when humanity abounds in the solar system and beyond that you all will be appreciated! Kudo’s to all of you. Its a darn shame that more people today don’t realize the positive implications in space exploration. S. Pagnozzi

It’s clear none of the team has ever run a backhoe… :)))
Virtually all rocks scraped with a backhoe look like that…
I’m in Tucson, with very little water… and yes, that’s what they look like
whenever we dig with a hoe… I’m dying to know if water is/was ever
present. Other life must be out there somewhere…more info please!!!!

Totally kewl…. Gathering Martian soil samples… What kind of organisms are in the dirt?

there is water on mars.
2 polar ice caps on both poles.
just google image search mars.

Yuor guys did more with 460 million budget, then entire us congress can do with trillions! shame on them, cheers to your team.

1. Someone forgot to close their Boldface Tag and it’s made the rest of the articles on this page all bold.
2. Comparing Mars to earthbound activities, while somewhat analogous, is fraught with pitfalls. Just be careful trying to correlate too much to what you may see with a backhoe in Tuscon.
3. No organisms yet that we know of. It would be front page news if there were (I would hope).
4. Yes, there is water on mars, although there is some significant “Dry Ice” (Frozen Carbon Dioxide) in those ice caps during the winter months.

I too applaud NASA for doing as best they can with the limited budgets they have. Although I am still dismayed at the stinginess of our government and industry to really put forth more of an effort for these programs. While I think the government gets a lot of deserved ridicule for its inefficiencies, we really need to continue to invest in hard science like this. Our economic well being is not only being eroded by our dependence on oil, but also on the decline in our technological knowhow.

        
Phoenix soils itself ? but who will change the diapers ?
Perhaps the solution should have been contracted out.
Japan makes more advanced robots.

What will the Martians think ?
Their first contact with Primitive Polluter.

Doesn’t it seem too close-minded to say that it is EITHER salt or ice, eliminating all other possibilities?

Chalk would indicate oceans.

Perhaps Phoenix bumped the quasi-metallo-crystaline roof of a martian subterranean city?

Or it struck the layer of martian fungus that exists just below the surface of the ground, deep enough to avoid the worst of the unfiltered ultraviolet radiation, but shallow enough to gather some solar energy while also utilizing buried moisture.

Or Phoenix is actually on the same sound stage the fake moon landings were filmed on and somebody forgot to bury the papier-mache set deeper when preparing for the scoop-photos.

Or I should stop guessing and wait for the real data to come in…

“Or I should stop guessing and wait for the real data to come in…”

While the robot was soil training itself;
It disappeared. Now we will newer know for shure !

Mr. Obrian,

I want to thank you for explaining things in layman ways. I really enjoy you’re enjoyment of current events. We are living in evenful times and you’re discriptive explanations are quite well received.
maybe people like you, with a microphone, can awaken us americans to be the next greatest generation. A great day to you..sir.

The most curious aspect of this find to me is that the uncovered ice is sublimating. Returning an atmoshpere would be as simple as blowing all the dust off the ice. Now if we just knew where all the nitrogen is at…there is where the life would be. Perhaps beneath the ice?

“Now if we just knew where all the nitrogen is”

Blown away by the Carrington Solar Flares.
Hiding is the only reason some CO2 and H2O are still there.

In the (above) June 13 article, “Phoenix soils itself”, there is an image from a microscope. I want to see the full-resolution version, but couldn’t find it anywhere on the web using Google. Not even going to the University of Arizona web site. Where’s the original?