White House Briefed On Potential For Mars Life

Aug 1, 2008By Craig CovaultThe Weak Stay has been alerted by NASA about plans to publication an announcement quickly on glaring new Phoenix lander discoveries hip the "nation for life" on Mars, scientists tell Aviation Week ">echnology.Sources say the new data do not assess the discovery of livelihood or in advance life on Mars. Preferably the data make known to habitability--the "nation" for Mars to bony life--at the Phoenix cool landing site, sources say.The data are considerably extend difficult than outcome concurrent NASA's July 31 announcement that Phoenix has up the presence of water ice at the site.International news media trumpeted the water ice keep a note, which was not a bolt from the blue to any of the Phoenix researchers. "They bring about bare water on Mars for the third or fourth time," one stuck-up Mars scientists joked about the tumult rudely the water ice announcement.The other data not discussed ingenuously yet are far extend "rude," Phoenix officials say.In fact, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory science team for the MECA wet-chemistry gadget that made the consequence was cool out of a July 31 news conference at the Academy of Arizona Phoenix control center. The basis was to nauseate them from being asked any questions that can display information previously NASA is self-assured to publication an announcement, sources say.The Plant Administration's Presidential Science Advisor's office, static, has been briefed on the new information that NASA hopes to release as to the lead as mid Esteemed. It is doable an announcement would not ripen until September, to approve of for latest notice. That forward motion depend upon the latest outcome increasingly being analyzed from the spacecraft's unaffected heater and contaminate chemistry laboratories.Phoenix scientists bring about supposed from the originate that neither the TEGA unaffected chemistry lab nor the MECA wet chemistry system can detect current or in advance life.MECA's two microscopes do, static, bring about the resolution to detect bacteria--which would be life. Sources, static, say the microscopes bring about not detected microorganism.The Phoenix fib was delighted in hand out of a soil/ice diversity to TEGA this week after the trouble hindered in the fib on two tries. The notice of that advertisement is under way. The advertisement contains about 1% ice and 99% contaminate.As assumed, the gadget straight detected hydrogen and oxygen atoms open water. Its electricity load as well bigger originally, a distinct sign that water ice was being melted by the system.The fact TEGA is starting to process individual ice samples "had fizzing corks popping" here, says William Boynton TEGA important investigator from the Academy of Arizona. "We bring about tasted the water and it tastes prevailing," he supposed.In advance preface, individual website lettering by the TEGA team indicated it believably can impediment unaffected evidence of "in advance" life. Whichever Boynton and Peter Smith, who heads the chore now, say that is not the case, in the face of TEGA unaffected data can originate glaring new arguments about life.It has yet to impediment organics, but increasingly has a quantity of advertisement ovens not at home to publication such a discovery. An electrical minus that more rapidly threatened TEGA operations has resolute itself, Boynton says.Word media cited the water ice common sense as a glaring discovery, but it was definitely assumed by the science team. The peculiar MECA data grotesque like TEGA is still influential as newborn module in the mystery of life.The key is in the contaminate and water, and how the two meeting related at that site on Mars, not the assumed keep a note of water ice at this standstill in the chore, Mars investigators told Aviation Week.The MECA gadget, in its first of four wet chemistry runs a month ago, found contaminate chemistry that is "Earth-like" and sunny of taking sides life, researchers supposed thus.It is inquiring that MECA can bring about found doesn't matter what extend distinct than that, but NASA and the Academy of Arizona are prize steps to nauseate divan from leaking out on the spirit of the discovery made at home MECA's transcribe contaminate test, in which water from Flatten was thoughtlessly motivated like Martian contaminate.Image from Academy of Arizona and NASA/JPL: Orangey outlined robotic arm targets for new Phoenix Mars trenching show work areas well thought-out for chore elaboration out of action at nominal September. Flurry Weak area (blue fair at far own) is current ice advertisement zone.Equip : Aviationweek