Uma troca de impressões entre mim e o John Wood sobre a detecção directa de gelo de água no pólo sul de Marte pela Mars Express.

I liked to know your opinion about the detection of water ice in the Mars
south pole by Mars Express.

It is the first spectroscopic evidence of solid ice and subliming water
vapor at the south pole, which solidly confirms the presence of ice there.

>>There were already clear indications of the existence of water ice through
the Mars Odyssey experiment.

Yes, there were already clear indications of water ice at the south pole.
What else could be the home of the H detected by Mars Odyssey? For many
reasons, known since Mariner 9 in 1971, it has been clear that there must be
water ice at both poles. After all, if it is cold enough there to condense
CO2 ice, how could it not also condense H2O ice?

>>...but doesn't exist too much noise about the ESA news?

You could certainly say that, but it is normal for space scientists to get
very excited about the smallest results produced by their expensive
spacecraft. Look at the passionate emotions expressed by Steve Squyers on
seeing pictures of bleak landscapes of rock debris or sand returned by the
Mars Exploration Rovers, little different from those seen by Viking in 1976
and Mars Pathfinder in 1997. But you and I would probably do the same, if we
were in Steve's place and faced with a roomful of newsmen who insisted on
having something to report.