If you haven't seen the pic

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0531231836.htm


This is Martian ICE revealed; 2 or so centimeters below the rocky covering. Amazing Pic.
Can't wait for the sample to be subjected to chemical analysis. Could we be on the verge of a very big discovery of ancient biology?

Has it been confirmed to be ice, or are you assuming speculation equals fact?

__________________
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0....

Thre is high probability it is ice. Other possibilities are hardpans (as in Viking), large boulders, or bedrock. But large boulders are very rare in both the HiRISE and lander images. There is no outcrop visible in the land and HiRISE images eiter. That leaves either hardpan (erroneously called duricrust) or ice as the obvious candidates.

There is good reason to suspect abundant ice within 1 m of the surface from the regional neutron data from the MO GRS and HEND images. The polygons visible at scales of 100's of m down to 1 m strongly suggest ground ice as well. Modelling indcates that permanant ice would exist a few cm below the surface, covered by loose soil.

We observe a massive to slabby, hard, pale stratum a few cm beneath loose soil. The slabs are similar in size to the polyhons. It appears to have a layered fabric. The primary hypothesis for testing is that it is ice, which is consistent with all the observations and is exactly as predicted.

Jon

There is high probability it is ice. The scientists pretty much expected to find ice; but maybe a bit deeper. It sure looks like ice to me. It does not resemble silica; as in what was uncovered at the other lander site with the rovers. And after all we are in the polar regions.
If it is not ice; maybe its a white mound of bacteria similar to the white mounds found in some lakes on Earth that resemble ice or sand dunes but are actually formed by life....
I suspect it will be verified as ice.

That's better than your original assertion. I expect it will be shown to be ice, but I'm open to its being shown to be something else.

So then to your question:

Probably not. We will see.

Do you seek predictions? Odds? Conclusions lept to?

If the stuff is ice, it's almost exactly what the mission planners were expecting. Have you reviewed their interviews about what they expect to learn about biology of Mars?

__________________
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0....

Probably not, because Phoenix is not designed to discover life. Only one chance (remote) is with Phoenix's microscopes.

And if is life on Mars, on this depth we would except anyway only biological byproducts, dead bacterial bodies and microfossils. And even these in very low (but maybe detectable through TEGA and MECA experiments) quanitites. And even if detected, we will not know for certain that these organics are really from bioleftovers.

So, don't get up so fast. It will be long story. It will be many missions until we will know for sure even in best case.

__________________
Sanity is overrated.
Butterfly.

Very strog enrichment in light isotopes of carbon or sulphur would be good evidence for a role for life would be a good sign for biological processes. Not conclusive though.

Jon