Opinion: Mars garden spot, or not

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New wet chemistry test results from the Phoenix lander indicate Martian North Pole soil contains magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and other common nutrients.

‘Martian soil could grow turnips,’ a New Scientist headline assures us. More of the geocentrism I was ranting about last week? Maybe not. This mix of chemistry is more interesting than the basaltic rock and iron oxide composition that has long been recognized as the soil type that makes the planet red (or is it?). Inevitably, this new finding is being touted as evidence that the Red Planet can ‘support life,’ though I’m glad to see the TierneyLab blog in the other Times is following my skepticism about the tendency to go looking for life in uninviting locations.

In the other big Mars news, we may have a pretty good indication of why our lopsided neighbor is devoid of life no matter how rich its soil might be: a 4.4 billion-year-old collision with an object the size of Texas. Or Alaska. Or Pluto. More discussion at Slashdot.