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It's snowing on Mars
Jim Whiteway, lead scientist for the Phoenix Meteorological Station, said that instruments on board the craft recorded rising temperatures and humidity in the two months leading up to the Martian summer solstice in July.
Temperatures have been falling ever since.
"In the second half of the mission we saw frost, ground fog, and clouds. This is now occurring every night," Whiteway said.
Ice crystals were detected coming from clouds about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) above the spacecraft's landing site. The crystals are most likely water-based, the scientists said, because it's not yet cold enough on Mars for carbon-dioxide snow to form.
The team hopes Phoenix will help confirm whether the snow hits the ground before the craft—which has already survived beyond its expected lifespan—freezes up forever during the cold Martian winter.
"We're going to be watching very closely for the next months to see if the snow is falling on the Martian surface," Whiteway said. Jim Whiteway, lead scientist for the Phoenix Meteorological Station, said that instruments on board the craft recorded rising temperat... more -
Phoenix Mars Team Opens Window On Scientific Process
Phoenix Mars mission scientists spoke today on research in progress concerning an ongoing investigation of perchlorate salts detected in soil analyzed by the wet chemistry laboratory aboard NASA's Phoenix Lander.
"Finding perchlorates is neither good nor bad for life, but it does make us reassess how we think about life on Mars," said Michael Hecht of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., lead scientist for the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA), the instrument that includes the wet chemistry laboratory.
If confirmed, the result is exciting, Hecht said, "because different types of perchlorate salts have interesting properties that may bear on the way things work on Mars if - and that's a big 'if ' - the results from our two teaspoons of soil are representative of all of Mars, or at least a significant portion of the planet."
The Phoenix team had wanted to check the finding with another lander instrument, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA), which heats soil and analyzes gases driven off. But as that TEGA experiment was underway last week, speculative news reports surfaced claiming the team was holding back a major finding regarding habitability on Mars.
"The Phoenix project has decided to take an unusual step" in talking about the research when its scientists are only about half-way through the data collection phase and have not yet had time to complete data analysis or perform needed laboratory work, said Phoenix principal investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Scientists are still at the stage where they are examining multiple hypotheses, given evidence that the soil contains perchlorate.
"We decided to show the public science in action because of the extreme interest in the Phoenix mission, which is searching for a habitable environment on the northern plains of Mars," Smith added. "Right now, we don't know whether finding perchlorate is good news or bad news for possible life on Mars." Phoenix Mars mission scientists spoke today on research in progress concerning an ongoing investigation of perchlorate salts detected ... more -
Toxin in soil may mean no life on Mars
CNN) -- NASA's Phoenix lander has discovered a toxic chemical in soil near Mars' north pole, dimming hopes for finding life on the Red Planet, the probe's operators said Monday.
The chemical, perchlorate, is an oxidant widely used in solid rocket fuel. Researchers are still puzzling over the results and checking to make sure the perchlorate wasn't carried to Mars from Earth, the University of Arizona-based science team said.
"While we have not completed our process on these soil samples, we have very interesting intermediate results," Peter Smith, the principal investigator for the project, said in a written statement.
Early readings from a device aboard Phoenix called the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, or MECA, "suggested Earth-like soil," Smith said.
"Further analysis has revealed un-Earthlike aspects of the soil chemistry," he said.
The Phoenix team has scheduled a teleconference for Tuesday to discuss the findings.
"Oxidizing" soil conditions also were found at the Viking 1 and 2 landing sites in the 1970s, leading most scientists to conclude that there could be no life there. CNN) -- NASA's Phoenix lander has discovered a toxic chemical in soil near Mars' north pole, dimming hopes for finding life ... more -
White House briefed on significant Phoenix lander discovery
It seems that the Phoenix lander has discovered something significant up on our neighbouring planet Mars.
Unfortunately sources say that the announcement won't concern the discovery of life, past or present, but will be about the potential for life to exist on Mars.
Once The White House, the guardians of all that is interesting, give the go ahead, we could hear the information in mid August, so keep your eyes peeled for updates. Let the speculation commence! It seems that the Phoenix lander has discovered something significant up on our neighbouring planet Mars. ... more -
Bush Set to Attack Life Forms on Mars
NASA's recent confirmation that water exists on Mars has the White House maneuvering in an offensive posture. Should scientists discover life on the red planet -- including the tiniest microbes -- President Bush said he is prepared to launch a preemptive attack with the "full force of the United States military."
"Any bacteria found up there would be irrefutable evidence that Mars has biological weapons," the president said, "and would be a serious threat to the liberties we enjoy here in the United States."
Bush has given Mars 30 days to disclose the location of its germs, bacteria and other microorganisms, or face severe military consequences.
A spokesperson for Mars could not be located.
-TheRepublicant.org NASA's recent confirmation that water exists on Mars has the White House maneuvering in an offensive posture. Should scientists d... more -
Nasa's Phoenix Lander drinks and prods water on Mars
NASA has confirmed that the Phoenix Mars Lander has identified one of the crucial ingredients for life in a soil sample.
"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, one of the lead scientists monitoring the mission. "We've now finally touched it and tasted it. From my standpoint, it tastes very fine."
Scientists popped open champagne when they received confirmation that the soil contained ice. Until now, evidence of ice in Mars's north pole region has been largely circumstantial. NASA has confirmed that the Phoenix Mars Lander has identified one of the crucial ingredients for life in a soil sample. ... more -
Phoenix Lander Confirms Water Found On Mars
Just as NASA announced the extension of the Phoenix Mars mission by five weeks, its scientists disclosed that they finally got the first Martian ice sample into one of the analysis ovens onboard the Lander.
NASA scientists earlier this week had decided to temporarily bypass the ice test because they had repeatedly run into trouble trying to get ice samples into the test ovens for analysis. The ice simply kept sticking to the back of the scoop on the robotic arm.
So on Wednesday engineers and programmers sent the robotic arm new instructions to gather a dry soil sample and get that into the ovens while they tried to solve the ice delivery problem. As chance would have it, when they got the soil into the oven, they discovered that it contained a small amount of ice, so they actually got exactly what they wanted.
"We've now touched it and tasted it, and I'd like to say that it tastes very fine," said William Boynton, co-investigator on the Mars mission. "There were a lot of champagne corks popping in the downlink room last night."
He noted that scientists spent nearly a full month trying to wrangle that first ice sample into the test oven.
Boynton added that they didn't notice the Martian ice was present in the sample until they started heating up the oven and the ice began to melt. They'll heat the oven about four more times and work with the analysis from all the tests. The eight ovens -- dubbed TEGA -- onboard the Lander are designed to allow scientists to gauge the gases that are emitted when samples are heated up. Just as NASA announced the extension of the Phoenix Mars mission by five weeks, its scientists disclosed that they finally got the fir... more -
Phoenix lander finds water on Mar!
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — NASA scientists said Thursday the Phoenix lander exploring Mars had confirmed water on the planet after analysis of a soil sample from the Red planet's surface.
The discovery was made after the lander's robotic arm delivered a sample this week to an instrument onboard the lander that identifies vapors through heating samples.
"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the lander's "oven" Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA.
"We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."
Earlier, NASA officials said the Phoenix's mission had been extended until the end of September, describing its progress so far as "very successful." LOS ANGELES (AFP) — NASA scientists said Thursday the Phoenix lander exploring Mars had confirmed water on the planet after analysis o... more -
Mars once was wet all over
Minerals in the soil of Mars show it was covered once by lakes, rivers and other bodies of water that could have supported life, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.
Last month the Mars Phoenix Lander found ice on the surface of the planet, but it is frozen hard and covered by red dust. Writing in the journal Nature, a team of scientists shows that the ice is left over from warmer, wetter times.
The clay-like minerals, called phyllosilicates, suggest water interacted with rocks dating back to what is called the Noachian period on Mars, about 4.6 billion to 3.8 billion years ago.
The findings fit with the analysis from the Phoenix Mars Lander mission, which, besides ice, found alkaline soil that could have supported life. Minerals in the soil of Mars show it was covered once by lakes, rivers and other bodies of water that could have supported life, U.S. ... more -
Mars Soil Tested Positive For Life
The Phoenix lander’s first taste test of soil near Mars’ north pole reveals a briny environment similar to what can be found in backyards on Earth, scientists said Thursday.
The finding raises hope that the Martian arctic plains could have conditions favorable for primitive life. Phoenix landed a month ago to study the habitability of Mars’ northern latitudes.
“There’s nothing about it that would preclude life. In fact, it seems very friendly,” mission scientist Samuel Kounaves of Tufts University said of the soil. “There’s nothing about it that’s toxic.”
Phoenix so far has not detected organic carbon, considered an essential building block of life. Last week, the lander found evidence of ice below the soil. Scientists generally agree that liquid water, a stable energy source and organic, or carbon-containing, compounds are required for a habitable zone. The Phoenix lander’s first taste test of soil near Mars’ north pole reveals a briny environment similar to what can be found in backya... more -
One Small Step... for a Robot on Mars
Scientists overseeing NASA's new Mars spacecraft say the lander's robotic arm has touched soil on the red planet for the first time.
The scientists said today that the arm reached out the day before and left an impression that resembles a footprint.
They say it is the first step in a series of actions that will provide soil and ice for the Phoenix Mars lander's experiments.
The robotic arm camera also took images of what is believed to be exposed ice under the lander.
The University of Arizona in Tucson is leading the mission, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is managing it.
(associated press) Scientists overseeing NASA's new Mars spacecraft say the lander's robotic arm has touched soil on the red planet for the fir... more -
Mars probe appears to have landed atop ice
"Elated scientists probing the arctic surface of Mars with their newly landed Phoenix spacecraft said Saturday they are convinced they have found a bright and shiny layer of genuine ice only inches beneath the Martian soil and directly under the body of the lander itself.
"It's the consensus of all of us that we have found ice," said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, as he talked to reporters in a conference call only six days after Phoenix landed safely from Earth. "It's shiny and smooth - it's absolutely astounding!"
But Smith did add a note of scientific caution: "It's not impossible that it's something else," he conceded, "but our leading interpretation is ice. We are looking at an extended table of ice."
And it turns out that Phoenix itself made the epochal discovery, for it was the exhaust from the lander's twelve retrorockets - firing during the last few seconds of the spacecraft's touchdown last Sunday - that blew a mere 3 to 6 inches of Martian topsoil away and uncovered the patch of ice near one of the lander's three legs. The camera on the lander's robotic arm snapped images of the flat, gleaming slab.
Spacecraft flying in orbit high above the planet carry sensitive radar instruments that can probe as much as a yard or so beneath the Martian surface, and their signals have already indicated a broad layer of what Earth-bound scientists believe is buried ice in the planet's frigid far northern region where Phoenix was sent to explore".
By David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor "Elated scientists probing the arctic surface of Mars with their newly landed Phoenix spacecraft said Saturday they are convinced... more -
The Phoenix Has Landed
The Phoenix has landed! It's also taken some amazing pictures of the surface of Mars.
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NASA hiding fact that Mars has Blue Skies like Earth!
The woman interviewing a project engineer eventually asked, "Will we be seeing color images?" The answer was "Yes indeed, we will be seeing color images [short pause here in his voice] in the future." But she never asked why these images today were in black and white today. Technically, there is NO reason for these live images to not be in color except for one major reason - people will realize that Mars isn't red after all, but it has a blue sky almost identical to that of Earth (which I proved with NASA images in my book.) Color image information is being sent to Earth right now, and there is no real reason whatsoever not to show these historic, polar images from Mars in black and white. Perhaps that's was "processing" does to Mars images - it alters them look so they will look like what NASA thinks the public expects to see. The woman interviewing a project engineer eventually asked, "Will we be seeing color images?" The answer was "Yes indee... more
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Phoenix sends first photos from Martian Arctic surface
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 arctic surface of Mars. ... more -
Phoenix spacecraft successfully lands on Mars
"NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars today to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander's robotic arm". "NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars today to begin three months of examining a site chose... more
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Phoenix delivers first photos of Martian Arctic
"Phoenix touched down on the Red Planet at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53 p.m. Eastern Time), May 25, 2008, in an arctic region called Vastitas Borealis, at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude.
Here's a brief overview of the Phoenix mission:
The complement of the Phoenix spacecraft and its scientific instruments are ideally suited to uncover clues to the geologic history and biological potential of the Martian arctic. Phoenix will be the first mission to return data from either polar region providing an important contribution to the overall Mars science strategy "Follow the Water" and will be instrumental in achieving the four science goals of NASA's long-term Mars Exploration Program.
--Determine whether Life ever arose on Mars
--Characterize the Climate of Mars
--Characterize the Geology of Mars
--Prepare for Human Exploration
The Phoenix Mission has two bold objectives to support these goals, which are to (1) study the history of water in the Martian arctic and (2) search for evidence of a habitable zone and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary."
--provided by NASA
And the pictures are AMAZING "Phoenix touched down on the Red Planet at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53 p.m. Eastern Time), May 25, 2008, in an arctic region cal... more -
"7 minutes of terror"
# The Mars Phoenix Lander landed on Mars on Sunday
# Phoenix mission is to analyze the soils on planet to find signs of life
# Experts are hoping for the best but are not optimistic about a smooth landing
# Getting lander on Mars has been dubbed the "7 minutes of terror" # The Mars Phoenix Lander landed on Mars on Sunday # Phoenix mission is to analyze the soils on planet to find signs of life ... more -
Nasa's Phoenix lander set for risky landing
Nasa's Phoenix lander is due to touch down on Sunday GMT in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680-million-km (423-million-mile) journey from Earth.
The probe is equipped with a robotic arm to dig for water ice thought to be buried beneath the surface.
Scientists say the mission should give the clearest indication yet of whether Mars could once have harboured life.
The final seven minutes of the probe's ten-month journey is regarded as the riskiest part of the mission.
After it enters the top of the Martian atmosphere at nearly 21,000km/h (13,000 mph), the probe must perform a series of manoeuvres to come safely to rest.
It will release a parachute, use pulsed thrusters to slow to a fast walking speed, then come to a halt on three legs. Nasa's Phoenix lander is due to touch down on Sunday GMT in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680-million-km (423-million-... more -
'Nail-biting' descent to Mars
Scientists are preparing for "seven minutes of terror" as a Nasa spacecraft makes a nail-biting descent to the surface of Mars.
The Phoenix lander needs to perform a series of challenging manoeuvres along the way as it attempts to land in the planet's polar north.
It then begins a three-month mission to investigate Mars' geological history and potential habitability.
Click on the pic to watch the video. Scientists are preparing for "seven minutes of terror" as a Nasa spacecraft makes a nail-biting descent to the surface of Ma... more
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