I guess I can lay my doubts to rest. It seems that the shiny rocks that NASA's Phoenix Lander found on Mars last month really were ice. (You know, those shiny rocks found on the Dodo-Goldilocks trench *snicker*.)

Anyway, the Phoenix Lander officially confirmed this when it got a soil sample from a trench approximately 2 inches deep. By heating these samples and analyzing the vapors, it has confirmed that it is, indeed, water.

Thanks to the discovery, Phoenix's 90-day mission has been extended with a new burst of funding (anything to add, conspiracy theorists?), and will now explore the Martian surface until September 30. Or until the Large Hadron Collider swallows us all up. Scientists are now trying to figure out if water on the Red Planet can thaw enough to be able to support life.

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