Re: Dirty Ice on Mars
20 and 75 cms seems to be a relatively thin layer of ice-free dirt. What keeps the ice from simply sublimating through the porous ground? Or isn't it that porous? It seems difficult to believe that such a layer of ice such a short distance below ground could be very ancient, although there is permafrost on Earth millions of years old. What would be the mechanism for replenishing it?
An interesting article on finding life in ancient permafrost can be found here.
We badly need probes with core samplers.