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For Phoenix Mars Mission, It's All About the Water

Irene Klotz, Discovery News

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Mars Ahoy!

May 23, 2008 -- A decade ago, NASA embarked on a journey to follow the water on Mars. On Sunday, it aims to land right on it.

What happens next depends in part on the secrets scientists wrest from ice samples obtained by Phoenix, the robotic probe due to land near the Martian north pole Sunday evening. They hope to learn whether the water was ever liquid, which is believed to be a prerequisite for life.

"Water is an agent of change," said Peter Smith, the lead mission scientist. "It allows other things to happen."

For example, as liquid, water can transform rock into clay. It can dissolve, transport and distribute chemical compounds, including organic materials. It floats when it freezes, providing insulation so lower layers can remain liquid.

On Earth, water is liquid over a wide range of temperatures, allowing life to exist despite shifts in the weather and climate.

Water molecules are slightly polar, with a negatively charged side and a positive one. The polarity attracts other electrically charged particles, such as sugar and salt, which are essential for living cells.

"We couldn't last a week without water," Smith said.

By itself, water is nothing more than a couple of hydrogen atoms hooked up with oxygen. But as Phoenix bores down through the frozen Martian tundra, scientists are hoping to find water's trail of transformation.

Deposits of salts, for example, would be a strong indicator that liquid water has been on the scene.

"We're real curious to see if the abundance of salts on Mars is similar to what we see on Earth," Smith said.

Discovery News is blogging live from the Phoenix flight control center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. And The Science Channel is covering the descent and landing live.

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