On Thursday, NASA held a press conference to announce that the recent TEGA experiment on board Phoenix had confirmed the presence of water in the Martian soil. Whist exciting, Phoenix scientists were expecting that result. However, behind the scenes, something else was being discussed and it had little to do with melting water…
Having just covered this story on the Universe Today, I can’t help but be intrigued. Apparently, an undisclosed Phoenix scientist has been in communication with Aviation Week concerning a “compelling” discovery on the Red Planet. What could this news be? Obviously it’s something important as NASA and the University of Arizona are going to great lengths to keep the details out of the public domain. Plus, Phoenix scientists have presented their preliminary findings to the Bush Administration’s Presidential Science Advisor. The report suggests that there has been an even more significant discovery from the robotic explorer, not only from the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (or “TEGA,” the instrument used to bake Martian samples) which confirmed the presence of water, but from the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) instrument. MECA has apparently found even more evidence for the “potential for life” on Mars. But this “evidence” will be the biggest discovery yet.
However, the Phoenix team need more time to analyse the complex data they’ve received and will wait till mid-August at the earliest to make a press release. Scientists are keen to point out that they have not discovered direct evidence for life on Mars (after all, Phoenix is not equipped to do this), but the indication is this new data will be even more profound than the discovery of water.
As if that wasn’t enough, it looks like they’ve had to take this news to the top. Advising the White House is a pretty big deal, so we’ll just have to wait and see what Phoenix has uncovered…
For more on this exciting development, see The White House is Briefed: Phoenix About to Announce “Potential For Life” on Mars.
astroengine.com 
Ahh, they found bacteria, I’ll bet. I’m anxious to see.
I bet they found a precious metal. Maybe Gold.
Well if they told Bush first, then maybe they found oil.
I think then they would actually get enough funding to go to Mars, although it would probably be with the intent to blow it up.
In reality if it is life/bacteria or whatever, will we ever be told? It would have some massive religious implications, the government might order it to be kept quiet.
We could get a huge number of religious fanatics calming its a hoax and attacking science as a whole (such as creationists are now), others embracing Panspermia and calming that Mars is the remains of the garden of Eden, some saying we are not allowed to go there because god kicked us out and others saying we should as its ok since its destroyed.
And in the overall scheme of things it means there is a good chance that life exists just about everywhere in the universe. If its happened in out solar system twice (at least) then its likely happened else where. Although if it is Panspermia then it only needed to have happened once and moved.
It’s obvious, they found Megatron.
Isn’t it obvious? they struck oil and bush wants it for himself! lol.
They found oil!! Whoa nelly!
They either found oil or evidence of Saddam’s WMD. What else would interest the Bush administration? Certainly not science.
oil would mean that there used to be a great deal of life before. while it is possible that there was life before i doubt that there was enough to create much oil.
my left sock!!! Ive been looking for that damn sock for 2 years!
George, Please send it to:
C.O. Gavin Newsom (D)
San Francisco, CA
A Monolith… “Du-du-du-du, du-du-du-du…”
Elvis?
2pac
Telling Bush first, rather than just coming out with it, would only lead more people thinking the government is hiding evidence of alien civilizations and I for one can think of a very good reason for them to do so: religion.
At first, I read the headline as stating that the fact that President was “informed” (i.e. in the possession of knowledge) was being hailed as a discovery more momentous than finding water on Mars. Then, after giving it a second thought, I realized that it is.
Maybe they found a Travel Brochure dropped by a time traveler, and it describes Bush as a despot convicted of warcrimes by an international tribunal in 2013. 🙂
That’s the only thing I can think of worth telling that ignorant bible-waver in the white house. (Everything else he’d ignore, or not understand and ignore anyhow.)
Why tell the president any sience news?
Isn’t it easier to give him a comic book with colourful pictures?
Perhaps they found all those emails that the Bush administration had “lost”…
Ultimately, I would prefer if it were evidence for Martian life, but, if not, that would be my next preference.
The either found Mini-me or Jimmy Hoffa
Gatorade? Coke? Pepsi? Champagne?
Brawndo. It’s got electrolytes. Which is what Martians crave.
Maby they found Bin Laden 😛
wait a minute, the bush administration has a “science adviser.” when did this happen? he must not work much, as a matter of fact this might be the first call he has gotten while in the position! what a great government job! (oh, i just kept reading and evidently they found something more than water on mars or something…)
i am in shock about this science adviser thing…
i think they found mr.hankey and his family. because poo is the creation of all things. good or bad!
They found my car keys! I wondered where I left them.
They found WMD’s,,, the white house has plans to invade
I bet its a Prothean beacon.
Probably, found Bush’s brain
Hey, Bush and WMD jokes. Wildly original. You guys write for Leno, or maybe NBC’s hit show, “The Office”?
What, you mean you actually thought the Pope’s *postive* statements, the endless tv programs from the History Channel to Discovery and Edgar Mitchell’s latest warblings about space aliens and UFOs WASN’T all prepping you? You people are just gagging to be deceived aren’t you.
The fact that they told that White House monkey anything spoils my interest.
Maybe they found all of those missing Enron-papers..
..Is what I would have said if someone hadn’t beat me to it.
Oh, and by the way.. What’s that “MECA”-thingy on the robot supposed to do, exactly? Like if they find life on Mars and it turns out to be Godzilla?
Oh oh, they found Waldo!
..Ok I’ll stop now.
They totally found evidence of intelligent dinosaurs having a colony on Mars.
TOTALLY.
Short term memories. Same story about a “outstanding” discovery re Mars happened at the same time last year. Is it time for someone’s funding to be looked at or something?
Having worked in the science field I can assure you the chance of keeping martian life secret is the same chance the aliens are coming 2012 with Elvis in tow.
Scientists are people too, the loose lips would’ve sunk this particular secret a long time ago.
probably a decroded piece of ancient dog turd. I find that not amazing.
@ Type3Singularity:
>> It would have some massive religious
>> implications, the government might
>> order it to be kept quiet.
nope, i think about a few months ago, the pope issued a statement saying that it doesn’t violate religious beliefs to believe in aliens. — something like that
Organic compounds or amino acids would be my guess; they’re not “life” but they are closely related to the process.
Our presence in the middle east is about oil, American oil that American companies would profit from, companies that eh-hem.. some administrators have interets in financially and/or politically. The price of fuel will not come down as much as even the most skeptical predictions if they are allowed to drill in sensetive ecosystems. The profit will be private, not public.
They found the secret recipe to Brawndo.
BRAWNDO: IT’S GOT ELECTROLYTES!
How did they prevent contamination of the site by the descent thrusters?
Of course the imprtant discoveries must be relayed to the administration, even at their earliest inklings which to release to the public with so little understanding of the full meaning of the data would not be responsible science, especially with the current state of media hype mongering these days. It’ll be an important relevation, but it will not be life itself. At the most they will indicate indirect proof of life but no specimens or fossils of the actual life.
Perhaps they found a russian flag.
THEY FOUND SADDAM’S WMD’S !!
OIL!!! THEY FOUND OIL!!!! HOORAYYYY!!
lol…