Rumors Abound About 'Potential for Life' on Mars. Has Mars Phoenix made a major discovery?

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Rumors are flying this weekend that Mars Phoenix has made a major discovery relating to the potential for life on Mars.

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They stem from an article in Aviation Week and subsequent pickup on Slashdot and elsewhere indicating that the White House had been briefed on the potential for life on the planet.

"The White House has been alerted by NASA about plans to make an announcement soon on major new Phoenix lander discoveries concerning the "potential for life" on Mars," wrote Craig Covault, citing anonymous sources on the Phoenix Lander's wet chemistry lab team.

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Late last night, @MarsPhoenix (aka Veronica McGregor, a NASA employee) responded to the story, via the mission's Twitter account.

"Heard about the recent news reports implying I may have found Martian life. Those reports are incorrect," she Tweeted. "Reports claiming there was a White House briefing are also untrue and incorrect."

Covault implies that a test in which Earth water was mixed with Martian soil is the cause of the excitement. Mars Phoenix scientists have repeatedly stated that the lander doesn't have the tools to directly detect life.

Over at LiveScience, David Leonard hints, without sourcing or attribution, that a paper on the work is going to come out in the journal Science.

"The reason that all this seems so hush-hush is due to a future paper and press release that appears likely to pop out of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and its Science magazine," Leonard writes. "Whatever the poop is from the scoop that’s been studied by Phoenix, that information is purportedly going through peer-review."

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/08...s-abound-a.html

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algore will be crushed.

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Of course there's life on Mars. That's where the Martian Manhunter, J'onn J'onnz (pronounced "John Jones") comes from.

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Martian soil may contain detrimental substance

Aug 4, 6:23 PM (ET)

By ALICIA CHANG

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Scientists say the Phoenix spacecraft has found a substance in the Martian soil that might be detrimental to possible life.

If confirmed, it could mean the soil may not be as friendly as once thought.

Scientists previously reported that the soil where Phoenix landed in May was Earth-like, containing nutrients such as magnesium, sodium and chloride.

The latest lab tests show the presence of an oxidizing substance.

NASA is investigating whether the substance could have gotten there by contamination.