Good morning and greetings, space cowboy fans. Ah, space, the final frontier. If you’re like me, at some point during the day, you probably ask yourself, “Was there ever life on Mars? And is there really a possibility that John McCain might be our next president?” Well, since today we are going to explore the Red Planet, I thought we would go with a montage of Santa Cruz rouge to celebrate the occasion.

The first two shots are from a sunrise at Steamer Lane. I believe these would be called ‘the redder the better.” The next set is from an epic sunset I shot at Stockton Avenue. This might be referred to as “Code Incredibly Red.” The final set is a couple of sunset shots from Natural Bridges.” I believe these might be called “Red Dessert.” Well, now that we have the color scheme in place, let’s take a look at what’s turning the heads of school children, NASA scientists and flight attendants this week.

For the first time ever, the world is getting a glimpse of the northern most surface of Mars-flat, frozen like a Snickers Bar and potentially hiding secrets that could open a new world of scientific knowledge. After a 422-million-mile, 296-day voyage (without once stopping to use the restroom,) the Phoenix spacecraft made a nearly perfect soft, chewy caramel landing last week on the chocolaty Martian terrain. This was cause for celebration for scientists at both the University of Arizona and at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in California since more then half of previous Mars’ missions had failed and neither had had a party for Cinco de Mayo.

Phoenix (without Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire) survived a wild, risky ride through the Red Planet’s atmosphere, slowing down from about 12,700 MPH to just over 5 MPH using braking rockets, a parachute and pair of flip flops and flying thru temperatures nearly as hot as the sun and the LA Lakers.

Two hours after the landing, the first photos revealed exactly what NASA was hoping for. No, not new shots of Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo, but a landscape of lumps and cracks, ground worked and reworked by thousands of years of freezing and thawing, a sign of water and potentially life. So began the three month search to see if life-giving water, chemicals and condiments were once abundant on the planet. In other words, if Mars was ever a “habitable planet.” The answer, my friend, may be frozen just beneath the Martian surface or is blowing in the wind.

But here’s a news flash. On Friday, a study by Harvard professor of Earth and planetary sciences Andrew Knoll, in the journal Science reported that earlier findings by the veteran Mars rover Opportunity, which has been exploring near the Martian equator, showed that any water left from the planet’s early days billions of years ago would have been far too salty to have sustained any form of life known on earth, wind or fire.

According to Professor Knoll, “Our sense has been that while Mars is a lousy environment for supporting life today, long ago it may have more closely resembled earth. But this result suggests quite strongly that even as long as 4 billion years ago, the surface of Mars would have been challenging for life. This doesn’t rule out life forms we’ve never encountered, but life that could originate and persist in such a salty setting would require biochemistry distinct from any known among the most robust halophiles on earth.” The Tucson-based Phoenix science team did not respond to the Harvard report but wondered aloud whether sour grapes could grow in a climate such as Harvard Square.

So for now the Phoenix, without former coach Mike D’Antoni, is using its 8-foot robotic arm to dig like a backhoe to scoop up icy samples to analyze them in an on board laboratory looking for clues for when Mars had a warmer, wetter climate, something like the Jersey shore in the summertime. Scientists are looking to find evidence that the Martian climate was once benign enough to support liquid water and the organic chemical constituents of living organisms or game show writers. This first ever exploration of extraterrestrial water could lead to a manned mission to Mars, or if not, at least the first reality show based in space. The working title, “Dancing with the Mars.”

And this just in. On Saturday, scientists at the University of Arizona are convinced they a found a bright and shiny layer of genuine ice only inches below the Martian soil. In the words of scientist Peter Smith “It’s shiny and smooth-it’s absolutely astounding.” If Smith and his team are right, the find means at the very least that real, liquid water could have existed on Mars. When asked about the discovery, scientists at Harvard were not impressed and responded, “Let us know when they find some soda.”

So that’s our look at what’s happening on the reddest of planets. I find it interesting that we can spend $420 million to send a spacecraft into space yet our schools have no money. Or as the bumper sticker says, “After we rebuild Iraq can we rebuild our schools?” But I don’t want to end this interplanetary excursion on a sour note so let’s go with a little space humor.

Two young astronauts were discussing the space program. One says, “Why do we have to go to the moon or Mars? Why don’t we go straight to the sun.” The other astronaut says, “If we come within ten million miles of the sun, we’ll burn up.” “So we’ll go at night!” Okay, sports fans, enjoy the redness along West Cliff Drive and we’ll catch you for some fresh color on Wednesday. And remember, no rebounds, no rings. Later, aloha fans.