The guys at NASA have decided to extend the mission of the Phoenix Lander with another 30 days, meaning that the mission will end in late September instead of late August. The decision was made about the same time that scientists managed to get a sample of the Martian soil dug from about 2 inches below the surface of the planet in one of the Lander's 8 tiny TEGA ovens.

When heated, the sample started emitting water vapors, something that started quite a party back on Earth at the mission control. According to the ComputerWorld Magazine, William Boynton, one of the co-investigators on the mission said that “We've now touched [the ice] and tasted it, and I'd like to say that it tastes very fine. There were a lot of champagne corks popping in the downlink room last night. ”

Scientists were just a step away from bypassing getting a sample of the Martian soil from underneath the planet's surface because of the repeated problems they faced ever since their first attempt. The soil was always sticking on the robotic arm's scoop and was impossible to get it into the TEGA,or Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, oven. The scientists failed this task twice before discovering the procedure that permitted the analysis to take place.

During the next days, more tests will be carried out on the sample. What scientists are looking for this time are traces of carbon-based chemical compounds. Their presents might elucidate them on the matter of whether the chemical cocktail that life could have evolved from was present on Mars or not.

During the rest of the Lander's mission, it will use its robotic arm to analyze samples from more places within its reach. It is unlikely that the mission will be extended even further, because the Phoenix Lander is unlikely to resist in the extremely harsh conditions of the Martian winter that will come.