Soil on Mars is like Earth soil

[ATO2]

Hey- first results are back on some of the oven experiments- Mars' dirt is like Earth's- full of nutrients and one could grow crops in it! Plus there is evidence that the water ice has been liquid in the past!
Here is "The Times" on line story:
Ground Control to Farmer Tom: asparagus on Mars? - Times Online


Nasa scientists who have reviewed the results of the first analysis of soil collected by the Phoenix Mars lander say they were 'flabbergasted' to find that it contained all the basic requirements, in terms of minerals and nutrients, to sustain life on the Red Planet.
It was also much less acidic than the experts had expected - and suprisingly similar to garden dirt back on Earth.
“There is nothing about the soil that would preclude life. In fact it seems very friendly,” said Professor Samuel Kounaves of Tufts University, the project’s lead chemist, told reporters in a telephone conference