 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Puts Soil In Chemistry Lab
Tucson AZ (SPX) Jun 27, 2008 NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander placed a sample of Martian soil in the spacecraft's wet chemistry laboratory today for the first time. Results from that instrument, part of Phoenix's Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, are expected to provide the first measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of the planet's soil. The analysis of this soil sample and others will help researchers determine whether ice beneath the soil ever has melted, and whether the soil has other qualities favorable for life. The Phoenix team is discussing what sample to deliver next to the lander's other analytical instrument, which bakes and sniffs soil to identify volatile ingredients. Engineers have identified possible problems in the mechanical and electrical operation of that instrument, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. Scientists are studying information provided by TEGA's analysis of the first Martian soil sample put in that instrument. The instrument has eight single-use oven cells; each cell can analyze one sample. When doors for a second TEGA oven were commanded open last week, the doors opened only partway. Later, the team determined that mechanical interference may prevent doors on that oven and three others from opening fully. The remaining three ovens are expected to have one door that opens fully and one that opens partially, as was the case with the first oven used. "The tests we have done in our test facility during the past few days show the robotic arm can deliver the simulated Martian soil through the opening with the doors in this configuration," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, Tucson, lead scientist for TEGA. "We plan to save the cells where doors can open wider for accepting ice samples." Scientists believe the first soil sample delivered to TEGA was so clumpy that soil particles clogged a screen over the opening. Four days of vibration eventually succeeded at getting the soil through the screen. However, engineers believe the use of a motor to create the vibration may also have caused a short circuit in wiring near that oven. Concern about triggering other short circuits has prompted the Phoenix team to be cautious about the use of other TEGA oven cells. Subsequent soil samples for TEGA will be delivered with a different method than the first. The new method will sprinkle soil into the instrument to make it easier for particles to get through the screens. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links the missing link Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
Phoenix Shake And Bake
Moffet Field CA (SPX) Jun 24, 2008The Phoenix mission landed in the martian northern plains on May 25. Since then, the lander's robotic arm has scooped up soil and delivered it to the science instruments for testing. The hope is that Phoenix will discover organic molecules in the red soil - if it does, that improves the odds that life could exist on Mars. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook