nasa’s phoenix soils martian soil with rocket fuel?

In the never-ending quest for knowledge, NASA scientists have reported that the Phoenix lander has found traces of perchlorate in the Maritan soil. While the scientists are claiming that the Martian soil is similar to what can be found in Chile’s Atacama Desert on Earth, it seems possible that the perchlorate came from ROCKET FUEL.

And so - in my never-ending quest for knowledge - I began to research whether the rocket that took Phoenix to Mars used perchlorate and if so, was it anywhere near the lander?

The Phoenix spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems and was placed aboard a Delta II rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Below is a detailed illustration of the Delta II with the Phoenix lander. The key to the illustrationis provided so that you can investigate the location of solid rockets relative to the Phoenix lander. I’ll leave it to you to consider whether any perchlorate (which is a component in solid rocket fuel) might have contaminated the lander.

1. Fairing	11. Helium Sphere
2. Acoustic Blanket	12. Interstage
3. Nutation Control System	13. First-Stage Fuel Tank
4. Thiokol Star 48B Solid Rocket Motor	14. Float Switches
5. Spin Rockets	15. Wire Tunnel
6. Second-Stage Guidance Section	16. Liquid Oxygen Tank
7. Support Truss	17. Graphite Epoxy Motor
8. Miniskirt Structure Assembly	18. Nitrogen Sphere
9. Second-Stage Separation Springs	19. Hydraulic Reservoir Unit
10. Attitude Control System Gas Jets	20. Liquid Oxygen Fill Duct

21. Boattail Section	33. Nitrogen Sphere
22. Ground Nozzle	34. Second-Stage Engine
23. First-Stage Engine	35. Fuel Tank Vent and Relief Valve
24. Phoenix Spacecraft	36. Baffle Installation (9 Places) Fuel Tank
25. Payload Attach Fitting	37. Center Body Section
26. Telemetry Antenna	38. Fuel Transfer Tube
27. Spin Table	39. Baffle Installation Liquid Oxygen Tank
28. Spin Table Support	40. Frame Installation
29. Second-Stage Fuel Tank	41. Engine Section
30. Oxidizer Pressurization and Vent	42. Fuel Fill Duct
31. Second-Stage Oxidizer Tank	43. Turbine Exhaust Duct Extension
32. Insulation Blanket	44. Extended Air-Lit Nozzle

Comment with your theories.