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NASA made on heck of an announcement yesterday…

Scientists believe Mars lander exposed water ice:

LOS ANGELES - Scientists believe NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander exposed bits of ice while recently digging a trench in the soil of the Martian arctic, the mission’s principal investigator said Thursday.

Crumbs of bright material initially photographed in the trench later vanished, meaning they must have been frozen water that vaporized after being exposed, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, said in a statement.

“These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it’s ice,” Smith said. “There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can’t do that.”

The most amazing part of that is the fact that NASA wasn’t expecting to hit any ice until they got down to about 7 inches for so, but they found “ice crumbs” at less than three inches.

Finding water is big when it comes to the search for possible life on Mars, either now or in the past. But water on the Red Planet would also be extremely helpful if we ever decided to establish a human presence on Mars.

Exit Question: How long will it be before the Phoenix lander uncovers a fish skeleton?