Water on Mars? I Know! Twitter Told Me

Via: Venturebeat.com

"In yet another powerful showcase of Twitter’s potential power as a disseminator of information, today several people received the first information via the micro messaging service that NASA confirmed its Phoenix Mars Lander has in fact found water on Mars. It’s still not on CNN.com, not on MSNBC.com, not Fox.com. But a Twitter Search query reveals it’s all over Twitter.

As a result of the news spreading quickly through Twitter, it’s also now all over FriendFeed where some discussions are taking place on the subject. This is the kind of stuff these services are built for.

The water was found in ice-rich soil. Tests confirmed the ice was water-based. Reuters India is now on the story. From its brief piece:

“We have water,” scientist William Boynton of the University of Arizona said in a NASA statement.

“We’ve seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted.”

MarsPhoenix, the Twitter account actually run out of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif. (sadly, not from Mars), was the first to tweet the news."

closing in on mars: where to watch

It's almost time!! As NASA attempts a first-ever landing near the polar ice cap of another world.

Phoenix Mars Lander will enter Mars' atmosphere at almost 13,000 miles per hour Sunday evening and then undergo what NASA engineers refer to as "seven minutes of hell" as it deploys a heat shield, then a parachute, and fires thrusters to touch down at just before 8 PM. (EDT). At least that's when NASA first learns if the landing was a success--it takes the signal 15 minutes to reach Earth.

The Phoenix Mars Lander should land about 7:53 PM (EDT), 4:53 (PDT).

Follow these historic and nail biting events (only 55% of all International Mars missions have succeeded) at these links.

Live coverage televised and online can be watched on the Canadian Discovery Channel (7-9 PM), The NASA Channel here in the States and Science Channel on some services. You can go to NASA TV and watch it streamed live online. NASA is expecting upwards of 500,000 to tune in to its live coverage on the Web. Those tuning in will see the images at the same time as NASA, and get the analysis in real time. Phoenix's mission: Dig for ice that scientists believe exists just below the surface, and determine if it has ever, or could ever, support life. If you are a member of Second Life, you can watch here. Link.

For a great overview of the Phoenix and the mission, go to the JPL Phoenix site. Link: JPL When at this site don't miss the Video: Guided Tour of Mars Landing. I linked to it - just in case. You can also follow the Phoenix on Twitter here. Link.

Another good video can be found here. It should start when page is loaded. Link.

phoenix mars lander: step-by-step martian landing guide

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is due to slam into the Martian atmosphere this Sunday at 7:46:33 PM EDT (2346:33 GMT) while traveling at 12,600 mph (20,277 kph).

After nearly 10 months speeding across 422 million miles (679 million km), the Phoenix spacecraft is just days away from plunging into the Martian atmosphere on Sunday to land near the north pole of Mars.

Story LINK.

Via: Space.com

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