Last Sunday NASA’s robot Phoenix saw falling snow over Mars. A laser detection system (LIDAR) measured ice crystals in the Martian clouds 2.5 miles above the ground.
The snow vaporised before it reached the ground but there is a chance they may soon see snow on the ground as Mars moves into winter. The craft landed on Mars in May and in July discovered water (ice) on the planet.
For me this is very exciting stuff and reminds me that there are much better things to invest our minds and energies into. I mean better than the drama (or sitcom) of how the US Government doesn’t work, Wall Street crumbling into a large pothole and the unsurprising revelation that Sarah Palin’s lack of experience is matched by her lack of brains.
The National Geographic covers the Mars story well, NASA’s own site is very spiffy including a series of shots showing a Mars sunrise. Phoenix also has it’s own Twitter site. The mission was expected to last 3 months and is now into its fifth, but it wont go on much longer as the shorter winter days mean that there is less sun energy to recharge Phoenix. They hope to get a microphone running and record Mars sounds before the power runs out.
Me thinks it’s good to think out of the box a bit….
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