How was the evaporation of ice on Mars discovered?”
The probe scooped out a trench while taking samples, and several shiny lumps were exposed. Pictures of the trench and lumps were taken and sent back to Earth. Hours later, the trench was photographed again, and the shiny lumps were missing. The most reasonable conclusion from this is that the lumps were water ice, and after they were exposed to sunlight, they melted/evaporated/sublimated and disappeared. Depending on how much ice is still on Mars, that could mean future astronauts have a supply of water and fuel waiting for them, making the journey less costly and more safe. It is unlikely that life as we know it exists in or near the ice, since water only exists as ice or vapor on Mars. But this ice discover does increase the chances that life once existed on Mars, perhaps in oceans like on Earth. There is no way to tell how much ice is on Mars. Phoenix will analyze soil with ice in it to see if there are any other chemicals in it. The analysis will take days to complete. Then the dat
