Data From Phoenix Mars Lander

Results from the mission of the Phoenix Mars Lander are beginning to be published. They make an interesting casse for Martian life.

Perhaps most importantly, Lander confirmed that water ice exists just under the surface in the polar regions. It also found compounds, like calcium carbonates, that can be associated with life.

Increasingly, the case can be made that if life ever arose on Mars, it could have existed for quite some time. In fact, there seems to be a possibility that life could still exist well underground, safe from the deadly radiation that likely makes the surface sterile.