On 4 August, the US space agency (Nasa) is due to launch a mission to the surface of Mars called Phoenix.
Dr Tom Pike, from Imperial College London, is writing a diary of his experiences as a team member working on the Phoenix project in America.
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6914836.stm
NASA's Phoenix mission lifted off successfully from Cape Canaveral this weekend, beginning its nine month journey through space to the red planet.
The probe, which will dig into the Martian surface to probe for signs of water, is expected to reach its destination in May or June next year.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/06/phoenix_launch/
Three Mars spacecraft are adjusting their orbits to be over the right place at the right time to listen to NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander as it enters the Martian atmosphere on May 25.
Every landing on Mars is difficult. Having three orbiters track Phoenix as it streaks through Mars' atmosphere will set a new standard for coverage of critical events during a robotic landing. The data stream from Phoenix will be relayed to Earth throughout the spacecraft's entry, descent and landing events. If all goes well, the flow of information will continue for one minute after touchdown.
More: http://spaceflightnow.com:80/news/n0802/28phoenix/
NASA has adjusted the flight path of its Phoenix Mars Lander, en route to a planned touch-down on the Red Planet on 25 May, on its mission to explore the body's Arctic plain.
The agency has "conditionally approved" a roughly 62 mile by 12 mile (100km by 20km) "landing ellipse" in an area dubbed "Green Valley", which lies at approximately 68 degrees N, 233 degrees E, having scoured High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images of the area for potential hazards.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/11/phoenix_landing_site/
NASA's Mars-bound Phoenix spacecraft is gearing up for a landmark landing near the martian north pole this month to find out whether the region could have once supported microbial life.
Phoenix is on course for a planned May 25 touchdown in the martian arctic that, if successful, will mark the first powered landing on Mars since NASA's hefty Viking 2 lander set down in 1976. But first, the probe is expected to fire its thrusters several times in the next few weeks to fine-tune its flight path.
"It's scary how smooth it's been," said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "The vehicle has just been behaving beautifully."
More : http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080501-mars-phoenix-preview.html
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is on its final approach for a slated touch-down on the Red Planet's Arctic region on 25 May amid a certain amount of nail-biting as to whether it will survive the landing.
Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, admitted yesterday: "This is not a trip to grandma's house. Putting a spacecraft safely on Mars is hard and risky. Internationally, fewer than half the attempts have succeeded."
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/14/phoenix_update/
Nasa: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
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 will begin its plunge through the Martian atmosphere on 25 May (GMT) as it attempts to land in the planet's polar north.
The craft needs to perform a series of challenging manoeuvres along the way.
It then begins a three-month mission to investigate Mars' geological history and potential habitability.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7399226.stm
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is looking good for a Sunday touch-down on the Red Planet, with all systems "nominal and stable", according to the agency.
Phoenix is, however, currently "closing in on the scariest seven minutes of the mission" when it must decelerate from 13,000mph (21,000km/h) to just 5mph (8km/h) using a combination of "superheated friction with the atmosphere, a strong parachute and a set of pulsing retrorockets" to achieve a gentle landing.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/23/phoenix_update/
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
APOD: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080525.html
Phoenix Diary on BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7408033.stm
The US space agency Nasa has landed a spacecraft on the surface of Mars.
The Mars Phoenix lander touched down late on Sunday GMT in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680-million-km (423-million-mile) journey from Earth.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7411113.stm
What a terrible piece of reporting
"The Mars Phoenix lander touched down late on Sunday GMT in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680-million-km (423-million-mile) journey from Earth"
Then
"If all goes to plan, the Phoenix lander will reach the surface of Mars at 2353 GMT on 25 May (1953 EDT; 0053 BST on 26 May)"
I did post the link within five minutes or so of the report from NASA confirming Phoenix had landed. I'd guess the report was in a half-updated state. :roll: The report has been modified significantly since then to include some of the first images from the surface, so it's worth re-reading now.
See also: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7419763.stm
Of course NASA's own site has the news first.
See: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
Looking good, can't wait for the science :)
Check this image of Phoenix parachuting in, as seen from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/press/PHX_Lander.html
That's pretty amazing ...
PASADENA, Calif. — A spacecraft orbiting Mars has photographed the Phoenix Mars Lander on the surface of the red planet, NASA scientists announced today.
More: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080527-phoenix-mars-update.html
Nasa says its Phoenix spacecraft is in good health after making the first successful landing in the north polar region of Mars.
Images sent back show a flat valley floor with polygonal features that give the ground a "paved" appearance.
These are believed to be a sign of the water-ice that lies just beneath the surface at these high latitudes.
The ice should be within reach of the probe's 2.35m-long robotic arm, which is due to be deployed this week.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7421700.stm
Keep an eye on NASA too: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
It would be funny if they actually found a life form, but it got toasted by the retros :twisted:
NASA is preparing to flex the robotic arm on its Phoenix lander following a technical glitch which provoked a temporary comms breakdown between the spacecraft and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which relays commands to Phoenix and dispatches information from the Martian surface back to Earth.
NASA explains: "The UHF radio system used by the orbiter to communicate with the lander had gone into a standby mode earlier Tuesday for a still undetermined cause. This prevented sending Phoenix any new commands from Earth on Tuesday. Instead, the lander carried out a backup set of activity commands that had been sent Monday."
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/28/phoenix_robotic_arm/
NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080527a.html
Nasa's Mars lander Phoenix has unstowed its robotic arm - the key tool in its mission to test the red planet's soil for the building blocks of life.
The 2.35m (7.7ft)-long titanium and aluminium extension will dig below the Martian topsoil to the water-ice which is thought to lie just beneath.
The next step will be to test the arm's four joints to be sure it is in working order before digging into the soil.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7426844.stm
Also, check the HiRISE links in today's APOD: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080530.html
BBC are reporting (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7431264.stm) that the probe has uncovered what they think is ice. The drilling arm didn't find it, it seems the regolith was disturbed below the lander and has revealed something shiny...
Chopped (Ian got there first!)
See also: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080602.html
The first dig by the Phoenix lander was delayed due to a communications glitch with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter...
So says the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7437639.stm)
Suppose you were developing software that would run about 50 to 60 operational tasks simultaneously, including the management of multiple mechanical and digital devices. That'd be reasonably complex. Now consider that any time a task stumbled, the software would have to correct itself. That would mean thinking ahead for every possible contingency that could affect all running tasks and designing in self-healing capabilities. That's much more complex.
More: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=319748
I wonder if the chips have an OS and then they code in a known language or if the whole thing is hard coded in assembly language.
nah, it's all running Windows Vista for Planetary Landers, Premium Edition.
Product activation is playing up, can't find Mars on the Country drop down list.
NASA's Phoenix Mars lander has hit a glitch in its first attempt to sample Martian soil - the Red Planet's surface may have proved too "clumpy" for one oven in the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA).
Phoenix recently scooped up a cup-sized sample of material for the "high-temperature furnace and mass spectrometer" TEGA, which features screened openings so that only particles less than 1mm can pass into the device's miniature ovens. Once inside, they're slowly heated up during a week's analysis to determine the soil's water and mineral content.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/09/phoenix_tega_glitch/
Cold ice bearing soil enters warmer sample chamber... Haven't NASA seen mud before :roll:
The Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars lander finally has an ovenful of dirt for anlaysis, following various attempts to shake the "clumpy" Martian soil into the instrument.
The "high-temperature furnace and mass spectrometer" TEGA packs eight miniature ovens, each protected by a filter screen to prevent the entry of particles larger than 1mm. However, the Red Planet's surface resolutely refused to play ball when NASA tried to fill oven number four last Friday, and the infrared beam designed to detect particles falling into the oven showed no activity.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/12/tega_oven_phoenix/
The Phoenix spacecraft on Mars is finally getting to grips with the clumpy soil at its landing location.
Early efforts to grab samples for study in the onboard lab had been frustrated by the cloddy nature of the ground.
But by shaking the scoop bucket on the end of its robotic arm, Phoenix now has a very effective technique to deliver fine samples to test instruments.
Mission scientists report that Phoenix has made a very delicate dusting of material across a microscope.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7452072.stm
Nasa: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
Nasa's Phoenix lander has provided the most magnified view ever of Martian soil.
Two scientific instruments, a microscope and a "bake-and-sniff" analyser, have begun inspecting soil samples delivered by the scoop on the spacecraft's robotic arm.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7408033.stm
(A good long article, this...)
Dice-size crumbs of bright material have vanished from inside a trench where they were photographed by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander four days ago, convincing scientists that the material was frozen water that vaporized after digging exposed it.
"It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."
More: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/06_19_pr.php
Pics: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/images.php?gID=0&cID=85
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7465419.stm
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/23/mars_water_ice/
Quote
Dice-size crumbs of bright material have vanished
Hmm - in my experience it's the birds that eat the dice-sized crumbs ...
Yeah ok maybe not quite...........
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7477310.stm
:lol:
NASA scientists are pretty excited about the initial results of the Phoenix Mars lander's "flawless" first wet chemistry experiment which has revealed the Red Planet's soil to be "a close analog to surface soils found in the upper dry valleys in Antarctica", as wet chemistry lead investigator Sam Kounaves put it.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/27/phoenix_wet_chemistry/
It's a bit unfair to describe the chemistry lead investigator as "wet".
The Phoenix lander's first chemical sniff of Martian soil did not turn up any trace of the building blocks of life. Its next whiff could be its last.
Engineers said a short circuit that occurred last month in one of its test ovens designed to shake and bake miniscule soil samples could happen again when the instrument is turned on.
"Since there is no way to assess the probability of another short circuit occurring, we are taking the most conservative approach and treating the next sample ... as possibly our last," the NASA mission's chief scientist, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson, said in a statement Wednesday
More: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080703-ap-phoenix-last-bake.html
And it's done - Sorry, had to be said ;)
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has stuck a fork in Martian dirt for the first time. The spacecraft also has begun to use a microscope that can determine the shape of tiny particles in the dirt.
The activities, initiated on Tuesday, allowed mission scientists to test the procedure for using Phoenix's robotic arm to stick the four spikes of the probe into undisturbed dirt on the planet's surface.
The prongs of the instrument, called a thermal and electrical conductivity probe, are about half an inch (1.5 centimeters) long. Scientists can use the instrument to assess how easily heat and electricity move through the Martian regolith, providing information about frozen or unfrozen water in the dirt
More: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/080711-phoenix-update.html
Interesting! Read this - http://news.oreilly.com/2008/07/the-software-behind-the-mars-p.html?article
The software is written entirely in C !
Look at the specs. of the processor they use !!
A study published today in Nature indicates that large swathes of the ancient Martian highlands, comprising about half the planet, contain clay-like minerals which can only form in the presence of water, demonstrating that the Red Planet once hosted "vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life", as NASA puts it.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/17/martian_lakes/
Water was once widespread on Mars, data from a Nasa spacecraft shows, raising the prospect that the Red Planet could have supported life.
Researchers found evidence of vast lakes, flowing rivers and deltas on early Mars, all of which were potential habitats for microbes.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7511523.stm
No comment: http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20080720
Nasa's Phoenix spacecraft will try a new way of getting icy Martian soil into its onboard oven for testing, after it ran into problems last week.
The soil has proven to be very sticky, hampering attempts to carry out tests.
On its previous attempt, most of the soil sample collected by Phoenix's robotic arm got stuck in the scoop and would not fall into the oven.
Controllers will now try a different strategy which involves less drilling and more shaking of the scoop.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7528950.stm
Nasa's Phoenix lander spacecraft has for the first time identified water in a sample of soil collected from the planet's surface.
Scientists will now be able to begin studying the sample to see whether the planet was ever, or is, habitable.
The craft previously had problems transferring samples from its robotic arm to the onboard lab for analysis.
The success and the good condition of the craft mean the mission will be extended until the end of September.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7536123.stm
(Oops. Thought I'd already psted this...)
In a development which may untwist a few knickers around the internet, NASA scientists have now explained just what their Phoenix robot lander has found in the soil of Mars - and what the implications are for possible discovery of life on the Red Planet.
Following news that the White House had received secret briefings in advance of any public announcement, internet speculation was rife. Some believed that life - or anyway hospitable conditions for it - had been found. Others said that no, in fact proof positive had been found that Mars could not harbour life, perhaps casting doubt on the value of President Bush's ambitious plans to send a manned mission there.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/06/nasa_sez_mars_perchlorate_good_for_exploding_dragons/
:D
* SCIENCE QUALITY WARNING: The chance that we are following this correctly is roughly equivalent to that of a man with no arms throwing a handful of jelly through a falling doughnut at fifty yards without touching the sides.
The US space agency (Nasa) has quashed any idea that it is hiding information related to discoveries made on Mars.
Nasa has acknowledged that its Phoenix probe has seen an unexpected compound - perchlorate - in the Martian soil but says the analysis is incomplete.
Scientists said they had not discussed the issue publicly earlier because they were unsure of the data's significance.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7544328.stm
In case you've been living under a rock on some distant planet, NASA apologizes for the intrusion.
The Phoenix Mars Lander has completed the tricky task of nudging aside a Martian rock roughly the size and shape of a VHS tape so that curious Earthling scientists could peer underneath.
The lander's robotic arm moved the rock, called "Headless," about 40 centimeters from its previous location during the mission's 117 Martian day on September 22. Phoenix had spent Saturday enlarging a trench close to Headless to make a suitable place to place the rock.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/24/mars_lander_flips_over_rock/
NASA's Phoenix lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds, hinting that liquid water may once have been common on the surface of the Red Planet. However, the snow seen by the explorer robot didn't merely turn to rain as it fell - it vapourised, never even reaching the ground at all.
"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim Whiteway, of York University in Toronto, speaking of the results obtained by the Meteorological Station on the Phoenix. The Station is Canadian supplied.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/30/phoenix_martian_white_xmas/
What would you hear if you were on Mars? A slight hiss from whatever wind there might be and then your own death rattle, probably - but the Phoenix Mars Lander is aiming to find out what other sounds the red planet has to offer.
The Lander has a microphone, fitted as part of an imaging system that was going to take photos as it descended to the Martian surface. It wasn't switched on because it might have endangered the landing.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/03/listening_for_sounds_on_mars/
The Mars Phoenix Lander is in a race against time and temperatures as it struggles to resolve some key questions about the Red Planet.
The onset of the harsh Martian winter means that there is now less Sun to charge Phoenix's batteries.
Researchers at the University of Arizona who are in charge of the mission are also struggling with the soil conditions as they try to sift the dirt for evidence of organic chemicals.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7680981.stm
NASA loses contact with the Phoenix Lander.............
More from Sky News (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Nasa-Loses-Contact-With-The-Phoenix-Mars-Lander-And-Calls-Off-Red-Planet-Mission/Article/200811215148667?lpos=World_News_News_Your_Way_Region_9&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15148667_Nasa_Loses_Contact_With_The_Phoenix_Mars_Lander_And_Calls_Off_Red_Planet_Mission)
Is it possible it could spring back to life when Winter is over?
I am guessing they will probably try to resume contact with it once the sun reappears. It all depends if dust has settled on the solar panels though. The two rovers were lucky that they had dust devils clean the dust off the panels for them.
The Phoenix robot lander, situated in the arctic dune seas of Mars, has ceased communicating and NASA does not expect to hear from it again. The onset of autumn in the chilly polar plains of the Red Planet has, as was expected, meant that the probe's solar panels can no longer supply sufficient power to keep it running.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/11/phoenix_dead/
Nasa says its Phoenix lander on the surface of Mars has gone silent and is almost certainly dead.
Engineers have not heard from the craft since Sunday 2 November when it made a brief communication with Earth.
Phoenix, which landed on the planet's northern plains in May, had been struggling in the increasing cold and dark of an advancing winter.
The US space agency says it will continue to try to contact the craft but does not expect to hear from it.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7721032.stm
WOODLANDS, Texas — Evidence is building that NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander plopped down on a microbe-friendly location.
Descending onto Mars on May 25, 2008, Phoenix was designed to study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian arctic's ice-rich soil. It did not pack instruments designed to find life. To date, there is no firm evidence that Mars ever hosted biology.
More: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090330-phoenix-habitable-mars.html (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090330-phoenix-habitable-mars.html)
During its stint in the Martian Arctic, NASA's Phoenix Mars lander made an impressive array of measurements and discoveries that will help fine-tune scientists' understanding of the chemistry and environment of the red planet.
Perhaps no discovery was more surprising than the detection of an odd type of salt that Phoenix scientists think could have an important impact on the Martian water cycle and the planet's ability to support life.
In a set of papers presented last week at the 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in The Woodlands, Texas, several Phoenix team members put forth their ideas on how the class of salts, called perchlorates, might affect Mars' water cycle; how it might boost or inhibit potential Martian life; how it might form a sludge underneath Mars' polar cap, lubricating them and allowing them to flow, as glaciers do on Earth; and how the salt even got there in the first place.
More: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090414-st-perchlorate-sludge.html (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090414-st-perchlorate-sludge.html)
Nasa's Mars Odyssey orbiter is set to listen for possible radio transmissions from the Phoenix Mars lander, to check if it has survived the Martian winter.
The agency said that communication from the lander was "extremely unlikely".
Phoenix's last communication was on 2 November 2008, after it completed its study of an arctic Martian site.
Since then, this landing site has gone through autumn, winter and part of spring, and Phoenix was not designed to survive such temperature extremes.
More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8454949.stm
Odds Slim for Resurrecting Defunct Mars Lander
More: It's Broken (http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/phoenix-mars-lander-contact-100118.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29)
NASA's long-dormant Phoenix Mars Lander is broken and officially down for the count, with new images taken by an orbiting probe showing severe damage to the spacecraft's solar panels due to the harsh Martian winter.
Repeated attempts by NASA in recent months to reestablish contact with Phoenix following its winter hibernation were unsuccessful, with no peeps coming from the lander
More: Ashes (http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/phoenix-mars-lander-damage-photo-100524.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+spaceheadlines+(SPACE.com+Headline+Feed))