Phoenix has Found Something More Compelling than Water: President Bush Informed

Posted by Ian O'Neill in Mars, NASA on August 2nd, 2008 at 2:12 am | View Comments | 6,368 views
The Mars vista as seen by Phoenix (NASA/JPL/UA)

The Mars vista as seen by Phoenix (NASA/JPL/UA)

On Thursday, NASA held a press conference to announce that the recent TEGA experiment on board Phoenix had confirmed the presence of water in the Martian soil. Whist exciting, Phoenix scientists were expecting that result. However, behind the scenes, something else was being discussed and it had little to do with melting water…

Having just covered this story on the Universe Today, I can’t help but be intrigued. Apparently, an undisclosed Phoenix scientist has been in communication with Aviation Week concerning a “compelling” discovery on the Red Planet. What could this news be? Obviously it’s something important as NASA and the University of Arizona are going to great lengths to keep the details out of the public domain. Plus, Phoenix scientists have presented their preliminary findings to the Bush Administration’s Presidential Science Advisor. The report suggests that there has been an even more significant discovery from the robotic explorer, not only from the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (or “TEGA,” the instrument used to bake Martian samples) which confirmed the presence of water, but from the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument. MECA has apparently found even more evidence for the “potential for life” on Mars. But this “evidence” will be the biggest discovery yet.

However, the Phoenix team need more time to analyse the complex data they’ve received and will wait till mid-August at the earliest to make a press release. Scientists are keen to point out that they have not discovered direct evidence for life on Mars (after all, Phoenix is not equipped to do this), but the indication is this new data will be even more profound than the discovery of water.

As if that wasn’t enough, it looks like they’ve had to take this news to the top. Advising the White House is a pretty big deal, so we’ll just have to wait and see what Phoenix has uncovered…

For more on this exciting development, see The White House is Briefed: Phoenix About to Announce “Potential For Life” on Mars.


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  • I don't believe that. It makes the situation rather funny. They talk much but work less.
  • Well thats interesting...What would they have found...I am waiting to know
  • none
    Its a great blog
  • Serve U Cash
    This is Obama's chance to make something out of his administration.. I hope to see he does the right thing.



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    This is Obama's chance to make something out of his administration.. I hope to see he does the right thing.
  • I hope Obama doesn't cut the space program...knowledge like this is what will allow us to survive
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  • Mars today is a world of cold and lonely deserts, apparently without life of any kind, at least on the surface. Worse still, it looks like Mars has been cold and dry for billions of years, with an atmosphere so thin, any liquid water on the surface quickly boils away while the sun's ultraviolet radiation scorches the ground.
  • are we ever going to see people living in any other planet
  • Its a great story but where has it gone from here - does anyone have an update?
  • plasticcard01
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  • Tom
    If it was bush it must be Uranium they found!
  • can't wait to hear the news.. what could they found??? life on mars?
  • Tom
    With a new man in the Whitehouse, it will be interesting to see where the longer term focus goes for NASA. Could be local issues put it on the backburner for a while.
  • johannabartley
    We thought that there's nothing on Mars for so long and now they've found water? Where's water there must be some sort of life forms. Should we worry or be happy?
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    Orlando locksmith
  • They either found oil or evidence of Saddam's WMD. What else would interest the Bush administration?
  • Daniel Lambert
    You
  • Yeah soon well be living on mars because our planet will be full of trash.
  • Having just covered this story on the Universe Today, I can’t help but be intrigued. Apparently, an undisclosed Phoenix scientist has been in communication with Aviation Week concerning a “compelling” discovery on the Red Planet. What could this news be? Obviously it’s something important as NASA and the University of Arizona are going to great lengths to keep the details out of the public domain. Plus, Phoenix scientists have presented their preliminary findings to the Bush Administration’s Presidential Science Advisor. The report suggests that there has been an even more significant discovery from the robotic explorer, not only from the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (or “TEGA,” the instrument used to bake Martian samples) which confirmed the presence of water, but from the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument. MECA has apparently found even more evidence for the “potential for life” on Mars. But this “evidence” will be the biggest discovery yet.
  • MIKE
    THEY FOUND AN ELECTRIC ANAMOLY, APPARENTLY, WHEN USING ELECTONICS ON PHOENIX, THE CRAFT FLOATS AND THEY ARE JUST FINISHING UP ON HOW.
  • ReplicantDeckard
    They found the flying spaghetti monster and had to break the news to him first
  • cm
    I doubt they would hold back signs of life for religious reasons. Only a minority of religious people who normally freak out about everything would freak out about it. My guess is the Mormons would have a "divine revelation" which allows aliens to exist and the pope would find some secret scrolls in his basement or something.

    But I don't think they found life, I'm guessing they found some rare metals or they discovered the soil is radioactive or unsuitable for life.
  • BetterThanYou
    WOW!!! All you Bush haters are just so pathetic. I just love how one man has made you dems into the biggest whiners in the history of the USA. I think what they found was a Democrat's balls since they seem to be lacking on Earth.
  • They found a nuclear fission reactor. It's being used to power Al Gore's home.
  • davis
    daaahhh bush is stupid - something something .... hes dumb ... daahh...
  • Mark
    They found that dirty hooker I was hiding in my box spring
  • Snadert
    Well, err, mr President, well you see... we 've got some neighbors called planets, that is, these are big balls... 'of fire?' No mr President, like Earth but different... ehh and we found something on such a planet called Mars... 'Hitler?' well err no Mr President, something far more interesting... 'Goldnuggets?' well no.. that is... we found life. 'Life'?' Yes, mr President. 'Let's nuke' em' Well that is hard mr President...
  • They found what was blocking the sifter. Plastic.
  • They found oil, Now bush can bomb it.
  • Paul
    How about a "Now do you believe ?"note in a bottle?
  • Dan
    someone wrote 'What is 6x7?' in the sand...
  • They found coke.
  • Eugène
    I guess they found some billions of dollars!
  • Tim
    Oil being named a fossil fuel for a reason... i doubt dinosaurs made it to mars ;]
  • melting water? you mean they are melting water? woah earth can't do that.. maybe martians found a way to melt water? woah! amazing!




    seriously I think they found Bush's Better twin..
  • bruce
    Maybe instead of life they found something much more significant: oil.
  • John
    They found a Brain cell, and are offering it to our feerlish leader so as to double his IQ
  • Akolyte01
    "An document that scientists have analyzed and confirmed is an “energy policy” used by an ancient alien civilization. The Bush administration is covering it up because it does not want American citizens to know that such things actually exist…"

    I hope that was a joke.
  • beebop
    An document that scientists have analyzed and confirmed is an "energy policy" used by an ancient alien civilization. The Bush administration is covering it up because it does not want American citizens to know that such things actually exist...
  • Aor
    Maybe they found paranoia.
  • Fuzzles
    It's obviously got to be Biker Mice.
  • Muad_Dib
    Methinks they found "Sand Kings"
  • they found Bush's pet goat!
    woo hoo!
  • Illuminatiscott
    [...after all, Phoenix is not equipped to do this...]

    This isn't entirely accurate. The Phoenix lander includes both an optical and electron force microscope capable of viewing objects as small as a bacterium. Although life-detection is obviously not its primary purpose on Mars, it still has the capability to do so.

    My guess about its discovery is not biology-related, but rather mineralogy-related. I do think the Bush Administration would be the most disinterested administration in history over anything biological, but if substantial concentrations of gold, diamond, platinum, or other precious minerals or metals were discovered, I think the Bush administration would be very economically interested.
  • nereida
    but why on earth don´t they tell what it is?

    it´s the same with planes fumigating all over the world, planes without an id, don´t tell us what is that substance being poured in the planet?!!
  • dbozzi52
    It's comforting to know that this important information is now in the capable hands of our idiot leader.
  • Mars. Desert Planet.

    Maybe they found "Spice"!
  • Proof that aliens built Stonehenge....?
  • Avigadro
    It's obvious that the phoenix lander detected traces of the organic compounds. Frankly, it's not a huge surpise either.

    I fully support additional tests/data from the probe and a peer review by the scientific community.

    My question is this: Why go to the president with unverified data? What is he going to do with it?! Do you think Bush is going to look it over and provide a scientific peer review? Not likely.

    This just sounds like NASA is trying to get a little political gain for this.
  • duleewopper
    OIL!!! THEY FOUND OIL!!!! HOORAYYYY!!

    lol...
  • Veritas Vincit
    THEY FOUND SADDAM'S WMD'S !!
  • Steven
    Perhaps they found a russian flag.
  • Lotusface
    How did they prevent contamination of the site by the descent thrusters?
    Of course the imprtant discoveries must be relayed to the administration, even at their earliest inklings which to release to the public with so little understanding of the full meaning of the data would not be responsible science, especially with the current state of media hype mongering these days. It'll be an important relevation, but it will not be life itself. At the most they will indicate indirect proof of life but no specimens or fossils of the actual life.
  • Jeremy
    They found the secret recipe to Brawndo.

    BRAWNDO: IT'S GOT ELECTROLYTES!
  • Lotusface
    Organic compounds or amino acids would be my guess; they're not "life" but they are closely related to the process.

    Our presence in the middle east is about oil, American oil that American companies would profit from, companies that eh-hem.. some administrators have interets in financially and/or politically. The price of fuel will not come down as much as even the most skeptical predictions if they are allowed to drill in sensetive ecosystems. The profit will be private, not public.
  • hafff3
    @ Type3Singularity:

    >> It would have some massive religious
    >> implications, the government might
    >> order it to be kept quiet.

    nope, i think about a few months ago, the pope issued a statement saying that it doesn't violate religious beliefs to believe in aliens. -- something like that
  • astrowhom
    probably a decroded piece of ancient dog turd. I find that not amazing.
  • Mickey
    Short term memories. Same story about a "outstanding" discovery re Mars happened at the same time last year. Is it time for someone's funding to be looked at or something?
    Having worked in the science field I can assure you the chance of keeping martian life secret is the same chance the aliens are coming 2012 with Elvis in tow.
    Scientists are people too, the loose lips would've sunk this particular secret a long time ago.
  • Jacob
    They totally found evidence of intelligent dinosaurs having a colony on Mars.
    TOTALLY.
  • Maox
    Oh oh, they found Waldo!

    ..Ok I'll stop now.
  • Maox
    Oh, and by the way.. What's that "MECA"-thingy on the robot supposed to do, exactly? Like if they find life on Mars and it turns out to be Godzilla?
  • Maox
    Maybe they found all of those missing Enron-papers..

    ..Is what I would have said if someone hadn't beat me to it.
  • Kevin J
    The fact that they told that White House monkey anything spoils my interest.
  • frog2prince
    What, you mean you actually thought the Pope's *postive* statements, the endless tv programs from the History Channel to Discovery and Edgar Mitchell's latest warblings about space aliens and UFOs WASN'T all prepping you? You people are just gagging to be deceived aren't you.
  • Hey, Bush and WMD jokes. Wildly original. You guys write for Leno, or maybe NBC's hit show, "The Office"?
  • Iamtim
    Probably, found Bush's brain
  • F16Freek
    I bet its a Prothean beacon.
  • taeo
    They found WMD's,,, the white house has plans to invade
  • They found my car keys! I wondered where I left them.
  • Mr.Hankey
    i think they found mr.hankey and his family. because poo is the creation of all things. good or bad!
  • Ken
    wait a minute, the bush administration has a "science adviser." when did this happen? he must not work much, as a matter of fact this might be the first call he has gotten while in the position! what a great government job! (oh, i just kept reading and evidently they found something more than water on mars or something...)

    i am in shock about this science adviser thing...
  • TheMarsian
    Maby they found Bin Laden :P
  • John M
    Brawndo. It's got electrolytes. Which is what Martians crave.
  • Brent Jones
    Gatorade? Coke? Pepsi? Champagne?
  • Brent Jones
    The either found Mini-me or Jimmy Hoffa
  • Hans
    Perhaps they found all those emails that the Bush administration had "lost"...

    Ultimately, I would prefer if it were evidence for Martian life, but, if not, that would be my next preference.
  • antwerpen
    Why tell the president any sience news?
    Isn't it easier to give him a comic book with colourful pictures?
  • Robert
    Maybe they found a Travel Brochure dropped by a time traveler, and it describes Bush as a despot convicted of warcrimes by an international tribunal in 2013. :-)

    That's the only thing I can think of worth telling that ignorant bible-waver in the white house. (Everything else he'd ignore, or not understand and ignore anyhow.)
  • Asparouk
    At first, I read the headline as stating that the fact that President was "informed" (i.e. in the possession of knowledge) was being hailed as a discovery more momentous than finding water on Mars. Then, after giving it a second thought, I realized that it is.
  • Milliner
    Telling Bush first, rather than just coming out with it, would only lead more people thinking the government is hiding evidence of alien civilizations and I for one can think of a very good reason for them to do so: religion.
  • Ali
    2pac
  • brent
    Elvis?
  • Eric
    A Monolith... "Du-du-du-du, du-du-du-du..."
  • My Left Sock
    my left sock!!! Ive been looking for that damn sock for 2 years!

    George, Please send it to:
    C.O. Gavin Newsom (D)
    San Francisco, CA
  • biatch
    oil would mean that there used to be a great deal of life before. while it is possible that there was life before i doubt that there was enough to create much oil.
  • Muffy
    They either found oil or evidence of Saddam's WMD. What else would interest the Bush administration? Certainly not science.
  • wired
    They found oil!! Whoa nelly!
  • booby
    Isn't it obvious? they struck oil and bush wants it for himself! lol.
  • It's obvious, they found Megatron.
  • Type3Singularity
    Well if they told Bush first, then maybe they found oil.

    I think then they would actually get enough funding to go to Mars, although it would probably be with the intent to blow it up.

    In reality if it is life/bacteria or whatever, will we ever be told? It would have some massive religious implications, the government might order it to be kept quiet.

    We could get a huge number of religious fanatics calming its a hoax and attacking science as a whole (such as creationists are now), others embracing Panspermia and calming that Mars is the remains of the garden of Eden, some saying we are not allowed to go there because god kicked us out and others saying we should as its ok since its destroyed.

    And in the overall scheme of things it means there is a good chance that life exists just about everywhere in the universe. If its happened in out solar system twice (at least) then its likely happened else where. Although if it is Panspermia then it only needed to have happened once and moved.
  • I bet they found a precious metal. Maybe Gold.
  • jasontimmer
    Ahh, they found bacteria, I'll bet. I'm anxious to see.
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