| June 10, 2008 |  |
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NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Testing Sprinkle Technique
Tucson AZ (SPX) Jun 10, 2008Engineers operating the Robotic Arm on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander are testing a revised method for delivering soil samples to laboratory instruments on Phoenix's deck now that researchers appreciate how clumpy the soil is at the landing site. "We're a little surprised at how much this material is clumping together when we dig into it," said Doug Ming a Phoenix science team member from NASA ... more Phoenix Sifts For Samples, Continues Imaging Landing Site 
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 10, 2008On Sunday, Sol 14 of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission, mechanical shakers inside the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer will attempt to loosen clumped soils on the device's screens to allow material to fall into the oven for analysis later in the week. The commands for this shaking action were to be sent to the spacecraft late morning Sunday, Pacific Daylight Time, and results will be repo ... more Mars lander Phoenix struggles with soil sample 
Washington (AFP) June 8, 2008A soil sample from the Martian arctic dug up by the Phoenix probe appears to be too firmly clumped to deliver any particles into the spacecraft's main test instrument, mission experts said. Apparently no testable bits from the 200 milliliters (12 cubic inches) of Martian permafrost which researchers hope will provide clues to whether the planet was once habitable for microbial life passed ... more McCain would like to see a man on Mars 
Washington (AFP) June 6, 2008Presumptive Republican White House nominee John McCain said Thursday he would like to see a manned mission to Mars as part of a "better set of priorities" for NASA that would better engage the public. At a townhall event in Florida, the Arizona senator was asked about funding for the US space agency's shuttle program, which is due to end in 2010. He said he "would be willing to spend ... more Phoenix Mars Lander Checking Soil Properties 
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 08, 2008The arm of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander released a handful of clumpy Martian soil onto a screened opening of a laboratory instrument on the spacecraft Friday, but the instrument did not confirm that any of the sample passed through the screen. Engineers and scientists on the Phoenix team assembled at the University of Arizona are determining the best approach to get some of that material ... more |
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Tucson AZ (SPX) Jun 06, 2008Two practice rounds of digging and dumping the clumpy soil at the Martian arctic site this week gave scientists and engineers gathered at the University of Arizona confidence to begin using Phoenix's Robotic Arm to deliver soil samples to instruments on the lander deck. Those samples will not be collected before Thursday. Following Wednesday's briefing on the mission, the Phoenix tea ... more Biological Stowaways On Mars 
by Michael Schirberfor Astrobiology Magazine Current and upcoming missions to Mars hope to find some sign of past or present life in martian soil. But a constant worry is that biological contamination on the spacecraft will lead to a false detection. New research adds to these concerns with evidence that ATP -- an energy-storage molecule vital to life on Earth -- could survive for months or even ... more Iron-Coated Fossils Hold Clues To Possible Signs Of Martian Life 
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Jun 06, 2008Fossil microbes found along an iron-rich river in Spain reveal how signs of life could be preserved in minerals found on Mars. The discovery may help to equip the next generation Mars rover with the tools it would need to find evidence of past life on the planet. The Rio Tinto arises from springs west of Seville. These springs percolate up through iron ores that were deposited by geotherma ... more Energy Levels Reach Record Low For Fading Spirit Of Mars 
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 03, 2008Energy production reached a record low for Spirit this past week. On Sol 1560 (May 23, 2008), solar array input was 220 watt-hours (enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for two hours and 12 minutes). On sol 1563, Spirit expended the highest amount of energy yet on running heaters to maintain minimum temperatures for batteries (30.6 watt-hours) and the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (5 ... more |
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Washington (AFP) May 29, 2008NASA's Phoenix Mars lander flexed its robotic arm Thursday in a successful test of the key element in the probe's mission to investigate the Red Planet's soil for conditions conducive to life, NASA said. "The arm is ready to go," said Matt Robinson of the US space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where the Phoenix mission is managed. "Yesterday we sent commands ... more ATK Ultraflex Solar Arrays Deploy And Provide Critical Power To The Mars Phoenix Lander 
Minneapolis MN (SPX) May 29, 2008Alliant Techsystems reports that the Ultraflex Solar Arrays deployed and now provide power to the Mars Phoenix Lander. This is the first flight for this unique solar array technology developed by ATK's Goleta, California facility. Each Ultraflex array unfolded like an oriental fan into a circular shape 2.1 meters in diameter and will generate 770 watts of power from sunlight at the distanc ... more Phoenix Spacecraft Commanded To Unstow Arm 
Tucson (LPL) May 29, 2008Scientists leading NASA's Phoenix Mars mission from the University of Arizona in Tucson sent commands to unstow its robotic arm and take more images of its landing site early today. The Phoenix lander sent back new sharp color images from Mars late yesterday. Phoenix imaging scientists made a color mosaic of images taken by the lander's Surface Stereo Imager on landing day, May 25, and th ... more Phoenix Coming Into View 
Tucson AZ (SPX) May 29, 2008The Phoenix lander sent back new sharp color images from Mars late yesterday. Phoenix imaging scientists made a color mosaic of images taken by the lander's Surface Stereo Imager on landing day, May 25, and the first two full "sols," or martian days, after landing. The panorama, now about one-third complete, shows a fish-eye perspective from the camera, a view from the lander itself all th ... more
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