Water in a Mars Soil Sample
Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander
have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm
delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies
vapors produced by the heating of samples.
"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona,
lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA.
"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."
The Mission Will Be Extended
With enticing results so far and the spacecraft in good shape, NASA
also announced operational funding for the mission will extend
through Sept. 30. The original prime mission of three months ends in
late August. The mission extension adds five weeks to the 90 days of
the prime mission.
"Phoenix is healthy and the projections for solar power look good, so
we want to take full advantage of having this resource in one of the
most interesting locations on Mars," said Michael Meyer, chief
scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in
Washington.
Digging for Water in Martian Soil
The soil sample came from a trench approximately 2 inches deep. When
the robotic arm first reached that depth, it hit a hard layer of
frozen soil. Two attempts to deliver samples of icy soil on days when
fresh material was exposed were foiled when the samples became stuck
inside the scoop. Most of the material in Wednesday's sample had been
exposed to the air for two days, letting some of the water in the
sample vaporize away and making the soil easier to handle.
"Mars is giving us some surprises," said Phoenix principal
investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona. "We're excited
because surprises are where discoveries come from. One surprise is
how the soil is behaving. The ice-rich layers stick to the scoop when
poised in the sun above the deck, different from what we expected
from all the Mars simulation testing we've done. That has presented
challenges for delivering samples, but we're finding ways to work
with it and we're gathering lots of information to help us understand
this soil."
Since landing on May 25, Phoenix has been studying soil with a
chemistry lab, TEGA, a microscope, a conductivity probe and cameras.
Besides confirming the 2002 finding from orbit of water ice near the
surface and deciphering the newly observed stickiness, the science
team is trying to determine whether the water ice ever thaws enough
to be available for biology and if carbon-containing chemicals and
other raw materials for life are present.
Observing the Martain Sky
The mission is examining the sky as well as the ground. A Canadian
instrument is using a laser beam to study dust and clouds overhead.
"It's a 30-watt light bulb giving us a laser show on Mars," said
Victoria Hipkin of the Canadian Space Agency.
Ice-Dominated Terrain
A full-circle, color panorama of Phoenix's surroundings also has been
completed by the spacecraft.
"The details and patterns we see in the ground show an ice-dominated
terrain as far as the eye can see," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M
University, lead scientist for Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager
camera. "They help us plan measurements we're making within reach of
the robotic arm and interpret those measurements on a wider scale."
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.
For more about Phoenix, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix
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This view combines more than 400 images taken during the first several weeks after NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander arrived on an arctic plain at 62.22 degrees north latitude, 234.25 degrees east longitude on Mars.
The full-circle panorama in approximately true color shows the polygonal patterning of ground at the landing area, similar to patterns in permafrost areas on Earth. The center of the image is the westward part of the scene. Trenches where Phoenix's robotic arm has been exposing subsurface material are visible in the right half of the image. The spacecraft's meteorology mast, topped by the telltale wind gauge, extends into the sky portion of the panorama.
This view comprises more than 100 different camera pointings, with images taken through three different filters at each pointing. It is presented here as a cylindrical projection.
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 credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University Arizona/Texas A&M University |
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This image taken by NASA's PHoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager shows the current trenches, labeled Dodo-Goldilocks and Snow White, and the areas identified for future digging, labeled Cupboard and Neverland.
The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA 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 |
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