Aspace probe designed to look for signs of life in the oceans that once covered Mars will be unveiled by Nasa scientists this week.
The Phoenix Mars Lander will be sent to the icy wastelands near the red planet's north polar ice cap. It will be launched next month and is expected to reach the planet in May.
When the probe lands its task will be to dig deep into the soil, scoop out chunks of ice and analyze them for signs of past or present life forms. The landing site has been chosen as the most likely point to find buried ice that once formed part of the planet's oceans.
"The arctic plains are the right place for the next step in Mars exploration and this is the right time to go there," said Leslie Tamppari, Phoenix project scientist at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "We expect to touch Martian ice for the first time."
Mars is now a cold desert planet with the thinnest of atmospheres and no water on the surface. However, previous missions have shown that there are large amounts of ice below the planet's crust in the northern arctic plains.
Data from previous missions suggest that billions of years ago water flowed through canyons and formed large shallow seas. Some of these may have still been in existence 100,000 years ago.
The search for water is more than scientific. Nasa's long-term goal is to send a human to Mars and a manned mission would be easier if the crew was guaranteed a source of water on arrival.
Latest Technology Articles
H2O 4 Gas Power System - Crazy Idea Or Full Of Water?
By: Alan Largo | 17/05/2008
Imagine for a minute about being able to operate your vehicle on water for fuel purposes. In order for you to use water as a fuel source for ignition inside your vehicle, you initially will need to turn the water conveniently into separate properties.
Boston it Outsourcing Found Online
By: Wayne Hemrick | 16/05/2008
An independent Boston consulting IT firm can analyze your IT system for efficiency and pinpoint any weaknesses.
Finding Boston Mass it
By: Wayne Hemrick | 16/05/2008
Do you need someone to assist your business in operating and maintaining its IT (Information Technology) system? Here is why you should consider hiring a local Boston IT consultant.
Sources Of Music On Hold
By: Kyle Newton | 15/05/2008
Other sources on music include the off the shelf commercial compact discs. Compact discs that are commercial remove the problems encountered with radio commercials.
A Water Powered Engine Would be a Dream Come True
By: Adam Hefner | 15/05/2008
It is now approaching four dollars a gallon. The cost of gas is wreaking havoc upon family budgets across the country. Most of us depend upon our cars to get us to work, get our children to school, and scurry about to all the other activities of life.
Top Essential Iphone Accessories for Apple Iphone Owners
By: Cory Threlfall | 15/05/2008
Buying your first iPhone is a long process, longer than you could have initially expected. It does not only involve the actual purchase of the iPhone, you have to acquire various iPhone accessories, to be able to become the really trendy owner of your new gadget, and in some cases, to protect it, or to maximize its capabilities. Iphone accessories are simply things from which you will always seek more of. Here are some of the basic ones...
LG Viewty Pay Monthly: a Great Package Loaded With Benefits
By: Austin David | 15/05/2008
The LG Viewty pay monthly offer is available online in various forms. Get this phone which is a technological wonder and still not feel the burden of the cost. Pay a rental for your phone every month and get the best services in your phone easily.
Use Your Business Mobile Phone Overseas as Phone Calls Now Cleared for Business Travel on Jets
By: Jeff Spires | 15/05/2008
Use your Business mobile phone overseas! Mobile phone calls and texts could finally be permitted on airline flights by as early as spring 2008.This is great news for all of those of you that love to use your mobiles while you’re away on business travel…
More from Subhash
This is your Life... and How you Tell it
By: Subhash | 07/07/2007 | Art and Entertainment
Stories are stories, after all. The attractive stranger at the airport bar hears one version, the parole officer another, and the PTA board gets something entirely different.
The Green Day
By: Subhash | 06/07/2007 | Music
Green Day was originally part of the punk rock scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. Their early releases for independent label Lookout! Records earned them a grassroots fanbase,
Chocolate Full of Health Benefits
By: Subhash | 05/07/2007 | Health
The best part of this study is that it allows us to give whole-hearted recommendations to those patients with high blood pressure who might have a sweet tooth,
Key to a Good Marriage? Share Chores With Wife
By: Subhash | 04/07/2007 | Art and Entertainment
In a 1990 World Values Survey, children ranked third in importance among the same items, with 65 per cent saying children were very important to a good marriage. Just 41 percent said so in the new Pew survey.
The Yellow Pages
By: Subhash | 30/06/2007 | Technology
Yellow Pages" were invented in the USA, over a century ago. The expression "Yellow Pages" is used globally, in both English and non-English speaking countries.
Battle to Build the Biggest Supercomputer
By: Subhash | 29/06/2007 | Computers
The huge devices, each costing tens of millions of pounds, will compete against each other this year for the title of the planet's biggest electronic brains.
No Full Stop in Evolution
By: Subhash | 28/06/2007 | Health
Historian often assume that they need pay on attention to human evolution because the process ground to a halt in the distant past. That assumption is looking less and less secure in the light of new finding based on decoding human DNA.
Video Games are not an Addiction
By: Subhash | 26/06/2007 | Video Games
There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders,
Technology 
