Phoenix lands on Mars

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Tue May 27, 2008 9:05 pm

Phoenix has just become the new addition to the fleet of spacecraft at Mars, which also include Spirit, Opportunity, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Sat May 31, 2008 8:35 pm

Phoenix's landing thrusters appear to have blown away the dirt just under the lander, uncovering what may be ice. This image was taken by the robotic arm on Phoenix.

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:54 pm

Looks like Phoenix has started digging. Not too deep, but it's a first for sure.

Mezon · by Mezon on Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:07 pm

Sirius_Alpha wrote:Phoenix's landing thrusters appear to have blown away the dirt just under the lander, uncovering what may be ice. This image was taken by the robotic arm on Phoenix.

It appears that NASA has made a discovery before it had a chance to unpack...=P

Perhaps examining a sample of said ice could yeild samples of bacteria(not from our own spacecraft, of course) which would show that mars does have life(it's not exactly little green men, but it would be progress.)

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:45 pm

Mezon wrote:Perhaps examining a sample of said ice could yeild samples of bacteria(not from our own spacecraft, of course) which would show that mars does have life(it's not exactly little green men, but it would be progress.)

Indeed, the people who designed Phoenix included a bio barrier, to keep life off of the arm. I hope it works too, we certainly don't want any detections of life if they're from Earth.

o_O A pretty neat .gif showing Phoenix's activity. First it reached out and tapped the dirt, then got a small scoop of it. The scoop has these white things in it which I believe are either salt or ice.

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:59 pm

Phoenix has taken another scoop!

The scientists decided they needed to take another before they were sure on how to do this. "It's like telling somebody how to tie their shoes over the phone". So they did another scoop, and this time, revealed some sort of whiteish substance. The scientists are debating whether this is a salt layer or actual ice.

You can get a bigger image here,

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/238733main_12648-hires.jpg

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:05 pm

Phoenix is done with practice digging and is now started on making scientific digs.

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Sat Jun 07, 2008 4:55 pm

It seems that some of the dirt has gotten clogged in Phoenix's oven hole

. They're going to try to shake it and get some to go into the oven.

Also, I was wrong. Phoenix doesn't have the capacity to detect life. It's primary purpose is to search for organic chemistry and check the past history of Mars.

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:25 pm

Phoenix has a fairly decent trench going on, and it has finally gotten an oven full of dirt.

Edasich · by Edasich on Sun Jun 15, 2008 5:08 am

Plays with sand? *lol*

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Thu Jun 19, 2008 10:28 pm

The stuff truly is ice! It's been observed evaporating.

Edasich · by Edasich on Fri Jun 20, 2008 3:30 pm

Thus ice exists on Mars. And sublimates quickly too

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:16 pm

Edasich wrote:Thus ice exists on Mars. And sublimates quickly too

The existence of ice has been known for quite some time. But this is confirmation that the object Phoenix found is indeed ice.
As for quickly, the images were taken four days apart.

Edasich · by Edasich on Sun Jun 22, 2008 5:00 am

Here lower gravity and atmosphere pressure play a different role rather that of Earth.

Sirius_Alpha · by Sirius_Alpha on Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:04 pm

It seems the martian soil at the Phoenix landing
site is rather life-friendly. Note that this is
significantly different from actually having life,
of course. Still, this is good news.

NewScientist wrote:If the soil conditions are
relatively mild, "this means that there's a broader
range of organisms that can grow in this soil", says
Kounaves. "There is nothing about it that would
preclude life. In fact it seems very friendly."
Recent studies have suggested that Mars might be too
acidic or too salty to support life. While this
particular beakerful of Martian soil may be just
right, the sample may not be representative of
conditions farther below the surface, team members
said. Digging down deeper could unveil saltier soil
or soil with a different pH.

Phoenix lands on Mars

Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars

Re: Phoenix lands on Mars