The Mars Phoenix Lander was sent on its long mission to Mars for really one purpose: to find ice. The region selected was seen as one of the more likely places on Mars to have an ice table that is closer to the surface and hopefully available to its robotic arm deployed just a few days ago.
The above image was taken yesterday by that robotic arm and lead scientists suspect that the bright patch visible in the image is the very ice they have been looking for. It would seem that when Phoenix’s thrusters were fired to slow the lander down for a soft touch-down – that all the dust and soil below it was blown away to reveal a smooth and highly reflective surface.
It is not yet official… but this could mean mission accomplished for Phoenix.