Media Resources Download
Phoenix Lander Droplets
Image
Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Max Planck Institute
Caption
Because saltwater is liquid at lower temperatures than pure water, an SwRI scientist modeled the climate of Mars to understand if pockets of brine on its surface could harbor life. NASA has found evidence of brine on the Red Planet, including these droplets on the strut of the Phoenix lander, which may have formed in the warmed spacecraft environment.