This image provided by NASA Thursday, July 31, 2008 combines more than 400 images taken during the first several weeks after NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander arrived on Mars. The center of the image is the westward part of the scene. Trenches where Phoenix's robotic arm has been exposing subsurface material are visible in the right half of the image. The spacecraft's meteorology mast, topped by the telltale wind gauge, extends into the sky portion of the panorama
 (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Analysis of recent soil samples taken by of Phoenix lander's from Mars has found possible traces of perchlorate, a highly oxidizing substance, NASA scientists reported Tuesday.

However, the mission team noted that further investigation is still needed to confirm the presence of perchlorate salts.

The perchlorate was detected in the soil samples analyzed by the wet chemistry laboratory aboard Phoenix Lander. The team wants to check the finding with another lander instrument, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA), which heats soil and analyzes gases driven off.

Perchlorate is an ion, or charged particle, consisting of a chlorine atom and four oxygen atoms. It is an oxidant, that is, it can release oxygen, but not a powerful one.

On Earth, perchlorates are usually found in places like deserts. Some microorganisms are fueled by processes involve perchlorates, and some plants concentrate the substance. Perchlorates are also used in rocket fuel and fireworks.

Phoenix mission is designed to search for a habitable environment on the northern plains of Mars, but for now, "we don't know whether finding perchlorate is good news or bad news for possible life on Mars," said Peter Smith, the mission's principal scientist.

"But it does make us reassess how we think about life on Mars," added Michael Hecht at a teleconference Tuesday.

Hecht is NASA's lead scientist for the instrument which detected the perchlorate.