Ever since NASA's Phoenix lander gently touched down on Mars's bleak northern plains on 25 May, it has been unearthing tantalising hints about the planet's potential for life.rnNews reports have been full of its baby steps: the probe's first tentative scoops of soil, struggles with oven doors on one of its instruments, and efforts to unload sticky, icy soil for testing. Then last week, the Phoenix team announced a surprising discovery: they had detected the chemical perchlorate in two samples of Martian soil.rnThe announcement was prompted by a stir surrounding rumours that the Phoenix team had briefed the White House about life on Mars. The rumours were wrong, but after all the confusion, where do we really stand?
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