The Phoenix Mars Lander Mission, Is there water on Mars?
Is there water on Mars? This question, which has many implications including the possibility for life, was addressed by Dr. Ray Arvidson in a recent presentation (22 Jan 2009), “The Phoenix Mars Lander Mission and the Search for Water.” Dr. Arvidson is the McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University (St. Louis), where he directs the Earth and Planetary Remote Sensing Laboratory. He is also head of NASA’s Planetary Data System Geosciences Node, and has been instrumental in the formatting and archiving of planetary data. His presentation was hosted by the St. Louis Region of the ASPRS, and held onsite at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Regional President Roberta Lenczowski opened the presentation and introduced Dr. Arvidson, noting the evolution of remote sensing of Mars from the Mariner 1 imagery of the 1970’s to the high fidelity imagery coming now from the Lander. Dr. Arvidson began his presentati
