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Seeing Mars In A Particle Of Dust
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Aug 27, 2008 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has taken the first-ever image of a single particle of Mars' ubiquitous dust, using its atomic force microscope.
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NASA’s Mars Rover Opportunity Climbing Out Of Crater
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 27, 2008 - NASA's Mars Exploration rover Opportunity is heading back out to the Red Planet's surrounding plains nearly a year after descending into a large Martian crater to examine exposed ancient rock layers.
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Phoenix Digs Deeper As Third Month Nears End
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 26, 2008 - The next sample of Martian soil being grabbed for analysis is coming from a trench about three times deeper than any other trench NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has dug.
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Liquid Water in the Martian North
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Aug 25, 2008 - Perchlorate. Never heard of it? Join the club. But NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has found it in the soil in the icy northern plains of Mars. And now that it's been found, scientists are scrambling to explain how it got there, and what, if anything, its presence means about the habitability of the martian north.
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Mid-Depth Soil Collected For Lab Test On NASA’s Mars Lander
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 25, 2008 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has scooped up a soil sample from an intermediate depth between the ground surface and a subsurface icy layer. The sample was delivered to a laboratory oven on the spacecraft.
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Dress Rehearsal For Mars
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Aug 22, 2008 - Before testing for life on other planets, it's useful to practice on barren areas of the Earth. One such place is Rio Tinto in Spain, where conditions are analogous to Mars. The water of that Spanish river is very acidic, similar to water scientists think may have once flowed on the martian surface.
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Phoenix Mars Lander Explores Site By Trenching
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 22, 2008 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander scientists and engineers are continuing to dig into the area around the lander with the spacecraft's robotic arm, looking for new materials to analyze and examining the soil and ice subsurface structure.
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Spirit Waiting Out The Winter
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 18, 2008 - Spirit's battery levels are slowly edging upward, thanks to a slight decrease in atmospheric dust (Tau) and a gradual increase in sunlight as winter gives way to spring.
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Martian Clays Tell Story Of A Wet Past
Mountain View CA (SPX) Aug 18, 2008 - Layers of clay-rich rock have been found in Mars' Mawrth Vallis, a potential landing site for future rovers. This work, published in the August 8 issue of Science, suggests that abundant water was once present on Mars and that hydrothermal activity may have occurred.
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Phoenix Camera Sees Morning Frost At The Landing Site
Temps AZ (SPX) Aug 18, 2008 - The Surface Stereo Imager, or SSI, on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has seen water frost on the ground around the spacecraft's landing site. Water frost appears in an image the SSI took on Aug. 14, 2008, at 6 a.m. local Mars time on Sol 79, the 79th Martian day after landing.
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Phoenix Microscope Takes First Image Of Martian Dust Particle
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 15, 2008 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has taken the first-ever image of a single particle of Mars' ubiquitous dust, using its atomic force microscope.
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Soil Studies Continue At Phoenix Mars Lander Site
Pasadena CA (SPX) Aug 13, 2008 - Vibration of the screen above a laboratory oven on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander on Saturday, Aug. 9, succeeded in getting enough soil into the oven to begin analysis. Commands were sent for the lander's Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) to begin analysis Sunday of the soil sample from a trench called Rosy Red.
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Preparation Begins For New European Space Mission To Mars
Paris, France (ESA) Aug 12, 2008 - Scientists searching for life on Mars are now preparing for the most in-depth probe of the Red Planet ever undertaken.
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Chasing Dust Devils
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 11, 2008 - It's a bit of an art - learning how to drive across dry lake beds at great speed, says Matt Balme. And it can be quite hairy as well.
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Soil Studies Continue At Site Of Phoenix Mars Lander
Tucson AZ (SPX) Aug 11, 2008 - NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has continued studies of its landing site by widening a trench, making overnight measurements of conductivity in the Martian soil and depositing a sample of surface soil into a gap between partially opened doors to an analytical oven on the lander.
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ROTOZIP Duracut Bit Helps Phoenix Collect Martian Soil Samples
Mt. Prospect IL (SPX) Aug 11, 2008 - The ROTOZIP Duracut Zip Bit, paired with a high-speed rasp, has enabled NASA's Phoenix Lander to collect valuable soil samples. NASA scientists confirmed the ROTOZIP-enabled rasp is the first tool in history to successfully cut into the permafrost surface of another planet and acquire a sample for analysis.