What's That White Stuff in That Martian Soil?
One week after landing, the NASA Mars Phoenix lander practices digging, University of Arizona
“A glint of bright material appears in the scooped-up soil and in the hole from which it came. “That bright material might be ice or salt. We’re eager to do testing of the next three surface samples collected nearby to learn more about it,” said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, Phoenix co-investigator for the robotic arm.”