[CPEO-MEF] PERCHLORATE: On Mars

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

[I thought I had heard everything when scientists said that perchlorate 
could form in thin air. But this is even further out. - LS]

Perchlorate found on Mars makes soil less Earthlike


By J.R. Minkel
Scientific American 60-Second Science Blog
August 4, 2008

Martian soil may be less Earthlike and less hospitable to life than 
researchers believed.

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has found traces of perchlorate in two soil 
samples analyzed during the past month, the space agency announced 
today. The results appeared to be the same ones rumored this weekend by 
AviationWeek.com to have been seen by the White House and to reflect 
Mars's habitability for life.

Perchlorate, or ClO4, is a naturally occurring and man-made chemical 
that is the primary ingredient in solid rocket fuel, according to the 
EPA. Where such a contaminant might have come from is unclear. The fuel 
in the thrusters that Phoenix used to land on Mars was made of 
hydrazine, not perchlorate.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=perchlorate-found-on-mars-makes-soi-2008-08-04

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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