A new chapter in Mars exploration begins on Sunday 25th May 2008 when a small robotic probe jets down to the planet's Arctic Circle to learn if ice beneath its surface ever had the right chemistry to support life reports NASA mission managers.
NASA approved the mission, known as Phoenix, after the Mars orbiter Odyssey found ice surrounding the polar caps in 2002. Five probes landed near Mars' equatorial zones, including the rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which discovered signs of past surface water. Odyssey found no sign of buried ice around Mars' equator.
On Earth, the arctic regions hold the history of the planet's climate changes, which are locked layer by layer into the ice core. Usually this is where the history of life is preserved.
On Earth, the arctic regions hold the history of the planet's climate changes, which are locked layer by layer into the ice core. Usually this is where the history of life is preserved.
Phoenix is not going to search for life directly, but it should be able to determine if the Martian ice was ever liquid. Liquid water is believed to be an essential ingredient for life to exist.
Among Phoenix's science instruments are small ovens to vaporize and chemically analyze the Martian ice, revealing, some of the processes the molecules underwent before reaching their present condition. Other sensors will study minerals in the soil and ice and image the shape and structure of individual grains in the soil.
The U.S. space agency faces a formidable obstacle before its new round of Mars studies can begin. Phoenix has to land in a process that requires it to slow itself from 19,000Kph to zero in seven minutes. This will be a very nail-biting time for the team members.
Exploration program manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which oversees Phoenix. From 170 million miles away, flight controllers will only be able to watch and wait to learn Phoenix's fate. Radio signals from Mars traveling at the speed of light take 15 minutes to reach Earth, so by the time flight controllers learn that the probe has begun its descent it already should have landed.
Among Phoenix's science instruments are small ovens to vaporize and chemically analyze the Martian ice, revealing, some of the processes the molecules underwent before reaching their present condition. Other sensors will study minerals in the soil and ice and image the shape and structure of individual grains in the soil.
The U.S. space agency faces a formidable obstacle before its new round of Mars studies can begin. Phoenix has to land in a process that requires it to slow itself from 19,000Kph to zero in seven minutes. This will be a very nail-biting time for the team members.
Exploration program manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which oversees Phoenix. From 170 million miles away, flight controllers will only be able to watch and wait to learn Phoenix's fate. Radio signals from Mars traveling at the speed of light take 15 minutes to reach Earth, so by the time flight controllers learn that the probe has begun its descent it already should have landed.
Finally, Phoenix has to unfurl its solar power panels to begin collecting energy from the Sun. Otherwise its batteries will last just 31 hours. All of these events have to occur exactly as planned
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