back to article NASA confirms ice at poles of Mercury

NASA's backronymic MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) orbiter has detected ice in polar craters on Mercury, and has confirmed the finding with multiple methods. What looked like ice on the poles of Mercury was detected in 1991 by the Arecibo radio telescope, and NASA said this March that …

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  1. ravenviz Silver badge
    Joke

    Ice on Mercury

    Now that is cool!

    1. LarsG

      Re: Ice on Mercury

      Cool yes....

      But what the hell do we do with it?

      1. SkippyBing

        But what the hell do we do with it?

        'That's enough ice to bury Washington DC in a layer two miles thick'

        Gets my vote.

  2. ravenviz Silver badge
    Boffin

    We know of no other compound ...

    If it looks like a duck ...

    1. Neoc
      Happy

      Re: We know of no other compound ...

      "If it looks like a duck ..."

      ...it just might be a platypus on its hind legs wondering what the fuss is about.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink!

    Holds out a lot of hope for the Lunar poles, doesn't it?

  4. banjomike
    Thumb Up

    enough ice to bury Washington DC in a layer two miles thick...

    well, it is no good on Mercury. Can they get it TO Washington DC?

    1. Jon B

      Re: enough ice to bury Washington DC in a layer two miles thick...

      Is this a new unit measurement? I don't care about Washington DC - how thick would it cover Wales?

      1. fearnothing

        Re: enough ice to bury Washington DC in a layer two miles thick...

        back-of-the-envelope calculations say about 30 feet.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Power

    The only planet in our solar system where a photovoltaic array would produce an impressive output.

    I wonder if it would be enough to power an air conditioner.

    Oh, that's right, no air...

    1. ~mico
      Boffin

      Re: No air

      Well, water + volts = hydrogen + oxygen, so voila, problem solved.

    2. James Micallef Silver badge

      Re: Power

      I think it would simply melt the photovoltaic array!

  6. JaimieV
    Headmaster

    What aren't they telling us?

    "We know of no other compound that matches the ... neuron readings"

    And without warning Mercury is revealed as a giant space brain.

    1. David Pollard

      Re: What aren't they telling us?

      Are 'neuron readings' part of a test for intelligent life?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Alien

    Ice on Mercury??

    So we won't have to import everything for a good G&T once the colonization begins!!

  8. Magister
    Alien

    Hey?

    Look a bit closer at the centre of the crater Prokoviev. Does that look like someone's face?

    1. Magister
      Alien

      Re: Hey?

      Face Invaders!

    2. VinceH
      Alien

      Re: Hey?

      Yes, and he's saying "No, stay back, they're still looking..."

  9. Tom_

    Careful language?

    '"We know of no other compound that matches the radar data, neuron readings, thermal signature, and reflectivity of the substance other than ice." In the careful language NASA always uses...'

    Are you sure?

  10. Euripides Pants
    Alien

    Get your facts straight, El Reg!

    There is no way in Hell that Mercury is made of wee....

  11. micheal
    Pint

    "We know of no other compound that matches "

    hmm, we know of no other compound SO FAR discovered

    our little ball of rock and irin isnt the be-all and end-all of the universe so far as molecular bonding goes.

    I can imagine a planet where they "dust and vaccuum" to get rid of the gold and diamond dust that blows in their houses when the door opens complaining of the pesky stuff clogging their PC vents.

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