The Phoenix lander's 2008 Mars observations of droplets on its legs and evidence of atmospheric exchange with liquid water: Difference between revisions
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The Phoenix lander's 2008 Mars observations of droplets on its legs and evidence of atmospheric exchange with liquid water (edit)
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[[File:Phoenix landing2.jpg|thumb|Artist's impression of the Phoenix Lander settling down on Mars.<br><br>Its measurements of isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen gave evidence for liquid water on the surface now or in the recent geological past.<ref name=phoenixisotope>[http://uanews.org/story/phoenix-mars-lander-finds-surprises-about-planet%E2%80%99s-watery-past Phoenix Mars Lander Finds Surprises About Planet’s Watery Past] University of Arizona news, By Daniel Stolte, University Communications, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory | September 9, 2010</ref>.<br><br>Its observations of possible droplets on its legs suggested new ways that water could be stable temporarily on Mars.<ref name=phoenix_droplets_2009>[https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16620-first-liquid-water-may-have-been-spotted-on-mars.html?full=true#.VRReJ_msV8E First liquid water may have been spotted on Mars], New Scientist, February 2009 by David Shiga</ref> These observations lead many scientists to reassess the present habitability of Mars]]
[[File:Mars-water-droplets-phoenix-2008-bg.gif|Mars-water-droplets-phoenix-2008-bg]]
Unfortunately, it wasn't equipped to analyse them
In December 2013, Nilton Renno<ref name="NiltonRennoFaculty">[http://clasp.engin.umich.edu/people/nrenno/FACULTY Nilton Renno - Faculty page], Mitchigen State University - Honors, Awards and Accomplishments, and Publications, etc</ref> and his team using the Michigan Mars Environmental Chamber were able to simulate the conditions at its landing site and the droplets<ref name="MicheganMars">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283504377_The_Michigan_Mars_Environmental_Chamber_Preliminary_Results_and_Capabilities</ref>. They formed salty brines within minutes when salt overlaid ice, with the salt, especially perchlorates, acting as an "antifreeze"<ref name="GoughChevrier2014">{{cite journal|url=http://comp.uark.edu/~vchevrie/sub/papers/Gough%20-%202014%20-%20EPSL%20-%20perchlorate%20chloride%20mixture%20deliquescence.pdf|last1=Gough|first1=R.V.|last2=Chevrier|first2=V.F.|last3=Tolbert|first3=M.A.|title=Formation of aqueous solutions on Mars via deliquescence of chloride–perchlorate binary mixtures|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|volume=393|year=2014|pages=73–82|issn=0012-821X|doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2014.02.002|bibcode=2014E&PSL.393...73G}}</r. The team concluded that suitable conditions for brine droplets may be widespread in the polar regions<ref name="salt_ice">[http://www.astrobio.net/news-brief/liquid-water-ice-salt-mars/ Liquid Water from Ice and Salt on Mars], Aaron L. Gronstal -Astrobiology Magazine (NASA), Jul 3, 2014</ref><ref name="salt_ice_paper">Fischer, E., Martínez, G.M., Elliott, H.M. and Rennó, N.O., 2014. [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2014GL060302 Experimental evidence for the formation of liquid saline water on Mars]. Geophysical research letters, 41(13), pp.4456-4462.</ref>. Nilton Renno talks about their results in this video
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