Ice Found on Mars

How much money did this cost?

We have ice here already, not to mention millions of people starving.

Memo

Attention scientists: effective immediately, science is officially canceled. Your services are no longer required. Your 2009 budget will be given to starving people. Please drop off all your equipment at Goodwill on your way home. Thank you.

The Man

proof that global warming exist in mars :)

the real question: what kind of ice? could be frozen co2. if it's water it would be great! /futuredream: Future source of 02 and hydrogen as rocketfeul. you know when the colonists whant to go back and visit friends on earth. /end dream

Our understanding of the universe must continue. Science must receive even more money than is already supplied. You want to help starving people, take one of your paychecks, spend the entirely of it on food, and send it to haiti. Governments will not help starving people, nor will corporations. There's no money it. You want them to not starve, sacrifice some of what YOU have and send it to them. Don't punish science for the sake of people that are essentially already dead.

Wow, that's harsh. "Screw those starving kids, gimmie more space ice!"

And to think, the other astronauts mocked Fred for bringing his snoopy sno cone machine to Mars. mmmmmm Martian sno cone

The kids aren't starving because of space probes. They're starving because of the corrupt governments of their own countries.

ive been waiting for this since thay first lauched the rocket, this is frickin amaizing! This gives the possiblity of life on mars even if its microbal.

By the way im only 15, im just a huge astronomy nerd.

@Big Pharma, DEA, and the Federal Marijuana Erection

WTF does that have to do with this article?

If you want to rant on about feck all, start a blog like 99% of the other " what I say is important" idiots. Don't bring it in here.

thanks big pharma.. you taught us potheads something we DIDN'T know.

but anyway-- so, ice on mars, eh? anyone really know why we're exploring dead planets? what difference would it make if we knew there was ice on mars? WOO HOO ICE ON MARS! NOW WE CAN... wait.. what can we do now?

some people say "oh golly-- knowing there was life on mars, now we can live there!" no, wrong. we shouldn't live there. why? because we have enough problems to fix here, and we shouldn't drag another planet into our mess. it's that exact mentality that has gotten us into so much trouble here on our own planet.. the mentality that we can just replace what we've broken with something shiney and new. yes yes, i know people do it all the time-- that's why places like wal-mart still exist. but what happened to the REAL conservatives? not the neo-con bobble-heads on "faux" news, the REAL people who actually utilize their resources and save them at the same time-- not just throw them away only to buy a new one. exploration on mars is neat, don't get me wrong. exploration of anything outside our giant ball of rock is neat, but i really think we're wasting a lot of money and man-power just to discover ice on a nearby planet.

They should take the money spent on science and give it to potheads who are being anally raped in prison?

If it's a dead planet, why can't we drag it into our mess? Can't make it any worse...

Humans should colonise space.

If our ancestors had MoonCake's attitude, we'd still be fish. But then, he'd probably think that was a good thing.

we are all overlooking what might be the most obvious...uh, we're "guessing" that life "as we know it" may have existed on Mars....perhaps it still does....you have, what the scientists say "must be ice", because it's there one minute and gone the next time they checked...really, it has to be ice? Look at a time lapse of any populated place and do the inhabitants stay totally still all the time....what do we really know of life on other planets, perhaps they aren't forms we would recognize as life, perhaps they could look like...oh I don't know....ICE?

Money spent on space programs doesn't end up in space, it's spent on thousands of earthlings doing research and construction. And then these earthlings spend the money on the local economy.

Some day earth will be swallowed by the sun. If earthlings don't find a way to leave then it will be as if we never existed.

It isn't a choice between either science or solving all the problems on our planet. That's pretty naive.

Ok, one question I have is,

look at the temps on Mars

The temperature varies between minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit in the early morning and minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit in the afternoon.

How the hell does ice disappear at those temperatures? it didnt freakin melt thats for sure.

Reading internet comments on this story is such a perfect piece of evidence of what happens when the public school system stops teaching science and starts teaching self esteem.

"I don't know anything, but those scientists are dumbasses!"

After the current batch of American engineers and scientists retire or die, we won't be doing any more exploration, because we'll be completely populated by idiots. Leave it to the Chinese and Indians.

considering the space program was started by germans smuggled out during WW2, how much of the space program can actually be attributed to american scientists and engineers anyway?

Von Braun retired in 1972, so a fair bit. The Peenemünde scientists and engineers gave us a huge boost, but it's disingenuous to imply that the American space program was all theirs.

Can't look at this this way, it actually helps in many ways. But agree we have needs over here.

Way to go NASA, you're ruining what's obviously the ice supply for the largest kegger in the universe. Just bring some chips & pretzels next time huh?

MOST OF YOU ARE VERY IGNORANT

OMG they spent money on something we will never use, Thats what the military does How often do they use giant battleships in iraq?

Knowledge is far more useful then money.

And if it was possible to go to mars we would just pollute it on purpose, since there is no atmosphere on mars all the heat escapse. If we cause global warming the planet will retain heat and it will warm up, then it would be possible to colinize mars

I knew that ICE would be somewhere because they are NOT catching any Mexicans around here!

It's water-ice not CO2 ice, and they know that for a fact.

Here's how: The temperature and the air pressure is not correct for the formation of C02 "dry" ice. That's it.

"Sublime" is my new favorite verb now. Thanks, Wired!

But you've got to hand it to NASA for designing an experiment that won't let the soil sample into the testing chamber until AFTER all the ice in it has sublimated away!

i say we dont spend enough on space exploration. for there to b a future 4 our species we must explore beyond our own planet no matter the cost.