Facts About Mars

Shown on the picture are soil, taken from the “Snow White” trench, delivered to the wet chemistry laboratory. The wet chemistry lab is used to identify the components of the Martian soil by mixing it with an Aqueous solution from Earth. Scientists have so far determined that the Martian soil is composed of salt and other chemicals like sodium, perchlorate, chloride, magnesium and potassium.

In the coming sols, Phoenix will be delivering soil samples to another instrument called TEGA – Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer. This instrument is used to heat samples and study the substances that turned into gas. It determines whether the samples contain organic compounds and it also helps scientists determine the properties of the Martian soil.

The Martian summer will be ending soon so scientists want to be able to analyze as many samples before the Phoenix’s battery dies out.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University

When the Phoenix launched into space and landed safely on Mars, it had 2 objectives:

1. Study the History of Water in All its Phases.
2. Search for Evidence of Habitable Zone and Assess the Biological Potential of the Ice-Soil Boundary.

On July 31, 2008 NASA confirmed that after a few failed attempts, water ice was accidentally found on a sample of soil collected by the robotic arm.

William Boynton, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA said: “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.”

Tests are now being conducted in order to see if Mars ever supported life.

Mission Chief Peter Smith said “We’re looking to understand the history of the ice, by trying to figure out if this ice has ever melted, and through melting has created a liquid environment that modifies soil”

“We’re just getting the data back. Through this we also hope to resolve questions; is this a habitable zone on Mars, meaning that we have periodic liquid water, materials that are the basic ingredients for life forms?” he added.

And because of this recent discovery, the mission was extended until Sept 30. That’s 90 days more than the original end date. Scientists wants to be able to fully utilize the Phoenix and sample more soil and water to fully identify its composition.

This discovery is another breakthrough for the human kind. NASA is getting close to determining if life ever existed on Mars and if the planet is habitable. The question is, if in case NASA is able to prove that Mars is capable of supporting life. WHAT’S NEXT?

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and development partnership at Lockheed Martin in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark; the Max Planck Institute in Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Image credits: NASA/JPL

As of this writing, the Phoenix Mars Lander is on its 88th day of digging and gathering of soil samples on the red planet.

The main purpose of the mission is to gather soil samples and water ice, which is abundant beneath the surface of the north arctic of Mars, in order to determine whether Mars is habitable or if it has harbored life before and to study the history of water on the planet which is important in order to know its past climate and future weather conditions.

The samples will undergo sophisticated chemical experiments in order to assess its life-giving elements such nitrogen, phosphorus, hydrogen and carbon.

Liquid water does not presently exist on the surface of Mars but the canyons suggest that water once flowed on the red planet.

EQUIPMENTS

The Phoenix Mars Lander packs sophisticated equipments that will be used to analyze the samples.

• Surface Stereoscopic Imager – The eyes of the phoenix. Situated on top of the Mars lander, it provides 3D images that helps the Phoenix team choose a dig site.

• Solar Array – A pair of 18-ft wide solar array used to convert solar radiation to electricity. This provides the much needed power to the Mars lander.

• Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer (MECA) – Has 4 tools that will be used to examine soil. Three of which will be used to analyze soil samples scooped by the arm and the fourth one, which is located near the end of the arm, will be used to examine the electrical conductivity of the soil.

• Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) – Used to heat samples and study the substances that turned into gas. Determines whether the samples contain organic compounds and it also helps scientists determine the properties of the Martian soil.

• Meteorological Station - Determines daily weather and seasonal changes with the use of temperature and pressure sensors and laser reflection instrument.

• Robotic Arm – Used to collect samples. Can dig about 20 inches deep and deliver the samples to other instruments.

One of the challenges that faced the mission was it EDL or Entry, Descent, and Landing since the Phoenix will be entering Mars’ atmosphere at 12,500mph and it will take only 7 minutes before it touches the ground. The challenge was, how to get the phoenix from 12,500mph to a screeching halt and land safely on the ground in 7 minutes.

Here’s a video of how the EDL phase was addressed.

And the good news is, the Phoenix Mars Lander landed on Mars safely on May 5, 2008. Here’s a video of the suspenseful moment as aired on CNN.

The mission is successful and the Phoenix is now in the process of collecting data in order to fulfill its objectives.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.