What is this White Stuff Buried on Mars?

The robotic shovel aboard the Phoenix Mars Lander has discovered some white material just below the surface of the Red Planet. NASA scientists aren’t exactly sure what it is — Ice? Salt? A buried spaceship?

It’s been three weeks since Phoenix touched ground on Mars’ north pole with the mission of finding clues as to whether or not the planet could be habitable. I’d say this is a pretty damn big clue.

From Red Orbit:

Phoenix will take images of the trench dubbed “Dodo-Goldilocks” over the next few days to record any changes. If it’s ice, scientists expect it to sublimate when exposed to the sun because of the planet’s frigid temperatures and low atmospheric pressure. “We think it’s ice. But again, until we can see it disappear … we’re not guaranteed yet,” mission scientist Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis said Monday.

The stunning photo below shows the robotic arm and a solar panel looking out over the Martian landscape. For daily updates on the Phoenix mission, check out Mars Daily.