Phoenix Mars Lander Discovers Perchlorate

So close and yet so far. I was pretty excited when I found out NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander encountered deposits of frozen water in soil samples early this month.

You don't need to be scientist to realize that water equals life, making it probable for organisms to live (or maybe have lived) on Mars.

But now, with new results found by the Phoenix Mars Lander, that vision of life on Mars is becoming less of a probability and more of a possibility.

The Associated Press reported on Aug. 5 that the Phoenix spacecraft found a highly oxidizing salt called perchlorate, throwing a wrench in the works established by earlier tests.

Initial testing indicated that Mars had "Earth-like soil." The first soil tests said that plants like green beans, turnips and asparagus could grow, but now the presence of perchlorate could make conclusions unclear.

Can one component of the soil sample make it clear enough that life on Mars may not be possible?

I'd like to think not. We didn't come this far for nothing ... right?

The discovery of life on another planet - or the discovery of the possibility of life on another planet - would certainly astound scientists and non-scientists alike. But only statistics and data can prove which scenario would arise.

Although perchlorate occurs naturally on Earth and is a manmade contaminant, NASA is unsure whether or not the Phoenix Lander contaminated the Martian soil with the substance. Perchlorate is an ingredient typically found in rocket fuel and other explosives. The spacecraft, however, utilized hydrazine as its fuel when it landed on Mars on May 25 of this year.

The tests have yielded a jumble of results.

Even though the Lander recently discovered the presence of perchlorate, NASA's device also found traces of magnesium potassium and sodium, substances needed for organic life.

In addition to this, although the Phoenix Mars Lander's experiment found the salt through pH tests, another of the spacecraft's instruments detected no perchlorate on Sunday.

John Mustard, a geologist of Brown University, said that until all data has been submitted, judgment about the soil's "potential to support life" should be reserved, according to an article from the Associated Press.

NASA will hold a teleconference on Aug. 5 at 2 p.m. EDT to discuss the recent findings in regards to the Phoenix Lander project. The mission has been extended to the end of September because of the results and the spacecraft's physical condition.