Exploration of Mars Continues

Phoenix Mars Lander is scheduled to touchdown on Sunday clsoe to Mars' north pole (in the region called Vastitas Borealis).

The scientists working on the project are convinced there is a layer a permafrost a few centimeters under the surface, and the probe's mission is to dig up soil samples and examine them for traces of liquid water in times past, and traces of past - or maybe present - life.

I'm not sure the probe will produce any certain evidence; the results of the mission may very well be inconclusive. Still, the search for extra-terrestrial life is a gripping one. And what if we find it? Ah, that's going to be interesting to watch.