tagged w/ Mars Lander
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Mission managers said Monday that they had not heard from the NASA spacecraft for a week and that they thought it had probably fallen quiet for good.
“At this time, we’re pretty convinced that the vehicle is no longer available for us to use,” said Barry Goldstein, the project manager. “We’re actually ceasing operations, declaring an end to mission operations at this point.”
With the onset of winter and declining power generated by the Phoenix’s solar panels, managers knew the lander would succumb soon, but had hoped to squeeze out a few more weeks of weather data.
But on Oct. 27, just after Phoenix finished its last major experiment analyzing Martian soil, an unexpected dust storm hit. The batteries, already low from running the experiment, ran out of energy.
The spacecraft first put itself into a low-energy “safe mode,” then fell silent. It revived itself on Oct. 30, but, with the dust still swirling, was never able to fully recharge its batteries. Each day, the solar panels would generate enough electricity for the spacecraft to wake up, but then the batteries drained again.
The last communication came on Nov. 2. Mr. Goldstein said the orbiting spacecraft would continue to listen for a few more weeks on the faint chance that the Phoenix defies their expectations.
The Phoenix landed in May to examine the northern arctic plains, and the $428 million mission, originally scheduled to last three months, was extended twice
“I’m just thrilled to death what we’ve been able to do here,” said Peter H. Smith of the University of Arizona, the mission’s principal investigator. The spacecraft accomplished all of its main objectives, but some science remained unfinished. The Martian soil proved to be extremely clumpy, and the spacecraft had recurrent trouble getting the samples through gratings into the spacecraft’s laboratory apparatus.
Dr. Smith admitted disappointment that a sample from one of the trenches that the Phoenix had dug was never successfully analyzed. “We got it all the way up to the instrument and even tried pressing it down,” Dr. Smith said. “But it wouldn’t go in.”
But Dr. Smith highlighted what the Phoenix did discover. It confirmed a layer of ice not far below the surface. It found some carbonates and clays, which suggest that liquid water may have be present within the past few millennia. It found the arctic soil to be alkaline, not acidic as has been observed in other parts of Mars. It also discovered perchlorates, a class of chemicals that in high concentrations can be toxic to life, but which can also serve as a food source for some microbes.The spacecraft took 25,000 photographs, including panoramas of the landing and microscopic images of dust particles.
“It’s really an Irish wake, not a funeral that we’re looking forward to,” said Douglas McCuiston, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA headquarters. “NASA got what it wanted out of this mission.”
The data may yet reveal the presence of carbon-based molecules that could be building blocks for life, Dr. Smith said, and that the region might, at least occasionally, be suitable for life. The Phoenix was not designed to look directly for signs of life. Dr. Smith said the scientists had begun writing the scientific articles describing their findings.
In the coming months, when sunlight disappears entirely in the northern plains, temperatures will fall to minus-240 to minus-300 degrees Fahrenheit, and the Phoenix will become encased within carbon dioxide ice. When spring returns, NASA plans to try reviving the Phoenix again, but the expectation is that the spacecraft’s electronics will not survive the long, deep freeze.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/science/space/11mars.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Mission managers said Monday that they had not heard from the NASA spacecraft for a... more
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NASA scientists said they had definitive proof that water exists on Mars after tests on ice found on the planet in June by the Phoenix Mars Lander.
Until now, the evidence for ice has been circumstantial. That was based on photos Phoenix took of a hard splotchy area near its landing site and changes it saw in a trench.
The robot heated up ice in one of its instruments earlier this week. Scientists say the chemical test confirms the presence of ice near the Martian north pole.NASA scientists said they had definitive proof that water exists on Mars after tests... more
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A sample of icy soil collected by the robotic arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars lander is apparently stuck in its scoop, foiling efforts to analyze it.
The arm picked up 3 cubic centimeters of material Friday night and lifted it over an oven designed to heat samples for analysis, mission officials said Saturday. The arm tilted its scoop, ran a tool motor to try to sprinkle the sample into the oven, and finally inverted the scoop directly over the oven's open doors.
But the science instrument, called the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, detected that not enough material fell inside and so the oven doors did not close.
The lander then transmitted images Saturday morning showing soil stuck in the scoop.
"We believe that the material that was intended for the targeted cell is the material that adhered to the back of the scoop," Phoenix project manager Barry Goldstein, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, said in a statement.
A short-circuit occurred weeks ago when shaking was used to try to get a previous sample into another of Phoenix's eight tiny test ovens and there had been concern that the vibrating action might cause a short-circuit again this time, but that did not occur.
"The good news here is TEGA is functioning nominally, and we will adjust our sample drop-off strategy to run this again," Goldstein said.
Mission officials planned to command the lander to take pictures on Sunday to determine if any more of the soil fell out of the scoop later on.
Saturday marked the lander's 60th Martian day, known as a sol, on the Red Planet's northern arctic plain.
The $420 million mission hopes to find out whether the icy Martian soil contains the chemical ingredients necessary for life. The results from the heating test that was carried out several weeks ago showed water vapor and carbon dioxide, but no signs of carbon.
JPL is managing the Phoenix Mars project. The mission is being led by chief scientist Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson.A sample of icy soil collected by the robotic arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars lander... more
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The arm picked up 3 cubic centimeters of material Friday night and lifted it over an oven designed to heat samples for analysis, mission officials said Saturday. The arm tilted its scoop, ran a tool motor to try to sprinkle the sample into the oven, and finally inverted the scoop directly over the oven's open doors.
But the science instrument, called the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, detected that not enough material fell inside and so the oven doors did not close.
The lander then transmitted images Saturday morning showing soil stuck in the scoopThe arm picked up 3 cubic centimeters of material Friday night and lifted it over an... more
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A spokeswoman for the Phoenix Mars Lander mission says a hacker took over the mission's public Web site during the night and changed its lead news story.
A mission update posted Friday was replaced with a hacker's signature and a link redirecting visitors to an overseas Web site.
The site hosted by the University of Arizona has been taken off line while computer experts work to correct the problem.
The Mars Lander vehicle touched down on the Red Planet last Sunday to search for traces of organic compounds that are the basic building blocks of life.A spokeswoman for the Phoenix Mars Lander mission says a hacker took over the... more
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The Phoenix Lander has successfully transmitted a series of photographs from the arctic surface of Mars.
The pictures show the solar panels have deployed fully. Without the solar panels the lander would have run out of power within a few hours. Other photos show Martian terrain and a lander foot pad.
Check out a few more photos after the jump.The Phoenix Lander has successfully transmitted a series of photographs from the... more
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Nice landing on Mars
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PASADENA, Calif. -- In less than two days, NASA's Phoenix Lander will attempt to land near the Martian North Pole. The lander will dig into the Martian surface in search for water and other signs that Mars could support life.
Wired Science will be covering the landing live from Pasadena on Sunday. Bookmark our "Mars" category page and come back throughout the day on Sunday for the latest updates.
The Phoenix Lander was built on the same platform as the failed Mars Polar Lander. NASA has attempted to fix the issues that plagued the previous incarnation of the Phoenix. The test will come on Sunday when the lander sets down on the surface of Mars -- or crashes and burns.
During a tour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory today we had a chance to ask Phoenix Project Manager, Barry Goldstein, a few questions. Use the player below to listen to our interview, or right-click the link to download the MP3 file. PASADENA, Calif. -- In less than two days, NASA's Phoenix Lander will attempt to... more
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On Sunday, May 25, the Mars Phoenix Lander will plunge through the red planet's atmosphere in search of water -- and possibly look for evidence of life on Mars.
In less than two weeks, the Mars Phoenix Lander could realize scientists' long-delayed dream of directly finding Martian ice for the first time. To date, the evidence for water on Mars has been indirect.
And while the Phoenix Lander isn't specifically looking for life, the lander's instrumentation may also find evidence of extraterrestrial organisms.
"If we're successful, this mission will be remembered for being the first to do direct analysis of ice or water on the surface of Mars," said Mike Gross of NASA, who engineered the mission's scientific instrumentation. "We'll dig through the topsoil layers and ice to learn ... whether that environment is or was possibly suitable for microorganisms to grow and reproduce."
The $420 million Phoenix mission is also the first to have its own Twitter feed, which has been sending out updates as the Phoenix approaches Mars.
The lander has traveled nearly 120 million miles since its August 2007 launch. On May 25, it will attempt a landing inside an area about twice the size of Hong Kong, a mere 2,000 square kilometers.
The new NASA mission comes after two major setbacks for Martian landers. NASA's Mars Polar Lander mission disappeared in January 1999 after arriving at the planet, and the European Space Agency's Beagle 2, which was designed to search for signs of life, met the same fate on Christmas Day in 2003.
After these two failed missions, NASA cancelled the Mars Surveyor in 2001 and mothballed the lander. That lander, newly outfitted and upgraded, became the Phoenix.
With the difficult history of lunar missions in mind, the Phoenix team, which has been working on the project for better than five years, will experience some difficult moments as the lander descends, followed by the watchful cameras of the planet's three current orbiters. On Sunday, May 25, the Mars Phoenix Lander will plunge through the red planet's... more
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