Within the last month, two samples have been analyzed by the Wet Chemistry Lab of the spacecraft's Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer, or MECA, suggesting one of the soil constituents may be perchlorate, a highly oxidizing substance. The Phoenix team has been waiting for complementary results from the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, which also is capable of detecting perchlorate.
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.
More from MSNBC.com and Planetary Radio [Windows Media] on the Mars Phoneix Lander data.
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