Simultaneously with the official data on the work of Phoenix, the US authorities received a warning that not only water was found on Mars
Three days ago, the US space agency reported that the Phoenix Mars Lander had received samples of Martian water. This information has been well received by numerous media and Internet sites. The discovery and production of water has become almost a sensation, unless, of course, we take into account the fact that the presence of water on Mars was reported with a very high degree of probability both by NASA and other space departments a few years ago, writes CyberSecurity.ru.
Nevertheless, the official version sounded in such a way that it was possible not only to see the Martian water, but also to "taste" it using Phoenix chemical and biological sensors. This was the official version.
However, the American publication AviationWeek & Space Technology, citing its sources in NASA and scientific circles, writes that simultaneously with the official version of Phoenix's work, a warning was sent to the White House that not only water was found on the Red Planet, and after a few weeks the agency intends to publish information about a "more significant" discovery made during the study of the Martian soil. The publication reports that the discovery concerns the "possibility of the existence of life" on Mars.
Sources in the department say that the unpublished data does not relate to existing or past life on the Red Planet. Rather, they have to do with the potential for Mars to support this life. Perhaps the discovery is not related to the entire planet, but only to the Phoenix landing region.
The publication notes that several sources in the structure of NASA at once confirmed the fact of the presence of closed data, representing "much more complex and complex conclusions, complementing the information published on July 31." Officials in charge of the Mars exploration, on condition of anonymity, confirmed the existence of some classified information, noting that "the data is much more provocative than getting water."
NASA sources say that for any serious space scientist, the fact of the presence of ice and water on Mars should not be a sensation. It was not a sensation for all those who took part in the international press conference last Thursday, when, in fact, it was announced that the Martian water was received. The main task of the representatives of the University of Arizona, from where the mission is managed, was to avoid additional questions related to the operation of the apparatus by any means.
The fact of the sealed finds was reported to President Bush's Scientific Adviser. Aviation Week writes that if NASA receives the green light from the US government to disclose new information, it will be presented in the second decade of August. Sources at NASA note that an additional 10-12 days are needed in order to retest the materials in an organic oven and a portable chemical laboratory on the Martian vehicle.
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The official version of NASA, even before the start of Phoenix, sounded so that neither the TEGA analyzer oven, nor the chemical laboratory, nor the MEGA analysis system are able to directly detect the presence of living organisms in water. However, the two microscopes in the MEGA system have sufficient resolution to capture bacteria.
The press service of NASA says that the device made two unsuccessful attempts to collect soil, it was possible to take samples only for the third time. The results obtained contained 99% soil and 1% ice.
As expected, the analysis systems immediately indicated the presence of oxygen and hydrogen molecules, later the ice was melted and this information was confirmed experimentally.
“The media channels said that finding water was a major discovery, but it was exactly what the science team, NASA and the White House needed. The data obtained with the MEGA system was completely different and more significant news,”say NASA sources.
However, the University of Arizona notes that such "secrecy" is due to the fact that the data found turned out to be too implausible and the mission's curators, in order to avoid unnecessary data leaks, insisted on re-sampling soil and ice.