Phoenix Mars Lander: Mission ends after 125 Sols

[lurkey]

Scientists Find Water Vapor, Key Nutrients in Mars Soil

By KENNETH CHANG
Published: June 27, 2008

Stick an asparagus plant in a pot full of Martian soil, and the asparagus might grow happily, scientists announced Thursday.

An experiment on NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander shows the dirt on the planet’s northern arctic plains to be alkaline, though not fiercely alkaline, and full of the mineral nutrients that a plant would need.

“We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life whether past, present or future,” Samuel P. Kounaves of Tufts University, who is leading the chemical analysis, said during a telephone news conference on Thursday. “The sort of soil you have there is the type of soil you’d probably have in your back yard. .”

Mars today is cold and dry, and the surface is bombarded by ultraviolet radiation, making life unlikely, but conditions could have been more habitable in the past. Thus, plants that like alkaline soil — like asparagus — might readily grow in the Martian soil, provided that other components of an Earthlike environment like air and water were also present.

The preliminary findings from Phoenix do not answer whether life ever existed on Mars (or might still exist somewhere underground), only that conditions, at least at this location, are not the harshest imaginable. The soil, taken close to the surface, was similar to what is found in parts of Antarctica, Dr. Kounaves said. The soil elsewhere on the planet could well be very different; even the soil farther down in the ground could turn out acidic or otherwise vary in composition.

The Phoenix is capable of performing the same chemical analysis on three more samples.

In a different experiment, a tiny oven heated another sample of the Martian soil to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, which released water vapor. “This soil clearly has interacted with water in the past,” said William V. Boynton of the University of Arizona, the lead scientist in this experiment.

Dr. Boynton said he could not say when the liquid water was present or even where it was. The moisture might have come from dust particles that had blown there from other parts of Mars. “At this point, it is difficult to quantify what was given off,” he said.

The oven experiment also found carbon dioxide vapors, not surprising since Mars’ thin atmosphere is primarily carbon dioxide. The data has not yet revealed any carbon-based compounds.

The Phoenix’s mission is not directly looking for life on Mars, but rather whether conditions for habitability ever existed. In the wet chemistry experiment, water was mixed into the soil to produce Martian mud. Then the apparatus performed same sorts of tests that gardeners use to test the condition of their soil.

The pH level was between 8 and 9, Dr. Kounaves said. The pH, or potential of hydrogen, reflects the concentration of hydrogen ions, or acidity, of a substance and usually varies between 0 and 14, with 7 considered neutral. (The water of Earth’s oceans, for comparison, has a pH of 8.2.) The experiment also found the presence of magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride ions in the soil.

“There’s nothing about it that would preclude life,” Dr. Kounaves said. “In fact, it seems very friendly.”

[HURAKAN]

YES!! I always wanted to have a backyard in Mars!!!

[HURAKAN]

I would be so cool to plant a desert plant in Mars that is used to cold temperatures and minute amounts of water and study its reaction to Mars' CO2-rich atmosphere and very low gravity.

[x-y-no]

Interesting. Maybe terraforming Mars isn't a pipe dream.

[lurkey]

Just days after discovering ice on Mars, scientists stumble upon morning dew

By Stuart Fox Posted 06.26.2008 at 3:37 pm 7 Comments
When it rains, it pours: Photo by NASA

A couple of days ago, it was big news when ice was found on Mars. Now, an upcoming study in the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta claims that the Martian environment was once wet enough to produce morning dew. This finding runs counter to the more widely accepted view that liquid water on Mars seeped up from the ground, rather than falling from the sky as precipitation.

While the Phoenix rover is getting all of the press these days, the new study actually used records from older probes like Viking, Pathfinder and Opportunity. The study’s authors looked at data collected between 1976 and 2006 at different locations on Mars. In the various samples the researchers looked at, the soil had been depleted of elements that should have been present at the formation of the particular rock types. The absence of those elements indicates that water washed out the soil while moving downward. In contrast, had the water rose through the surface as previously thought, the soil would have been enriched with minerals from lower levels of rock.

The always important subtext to discoveries of extraterrestrial water is the knowledge that where there is water, there is life. By introducing the possibility of rain to Mars, the study shows that the planet could have been wet far more recently than previously believed; that longer wet period would have provided more time for some form of organic material to develop. And while there is still no proof that there is or was life on Mars, at the rate scientists are discovering water, we may want to rethink the whole "Red Planet" moniker.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

We need to go, hell we must go. But we are tied down right now with BS. We have not been back to our moon in 40 freaking years for crying out load. We are asking to be wiped out if we don't do it.

[HURAKAN]

Phoenix Returns Treasure Trove for Science



NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander performed its first wet chemistry experiment on Martian soil flawlessly yesterday, returning a wealth of data that for Phoenix scientists was like winning the lottery.

"We are awash in chemistry data," said Michael Hecht of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lead scientist for the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, or MECA, instrument on Phoenix. "We're trying to understand what is the chemistry of wet soil on Mars, what's dissolved in it, how acidic or alkaline it is. With the results we received from Phoenix yesterday, we could begin to tell what aspects of the soil might support life."

"This is the first wet-chemical analysis ever done on Mars or any planet, other than Earth," said Phoenix co-investigator Sam Kounaves of Tufts University, science lead for the wet chemistry investigation.

About 80 percent of Phoenix's first, two-day wet chemistry experiment is now complete. Phoenix has three more wet-chemistry cells for use later in the mission.

"This soil appears to be a close analog to surface soils found in the upper dry valleys in Antarctica," Kouvanes said. "The alkalinity of the soil at this location is definitely striking. At this specific location, one-inch into the surface layer, the soil is very basic, with a pH of between eight and nine. We also found a variety of components of salts that we haven't had time to analyze and identify yet, but that include magnesium, sodium, potassium and chloride."

"This is more evidence for water because salts are there. We also found a reasonable number of nutrients, or chemicals needed by life as we know it," Kounaves said. "Over time, I've come to the conclusion that the amazing thing about Mars is not that it's an alien world, but that in many aspects, like mineralogy, it's very much like Earth."

Another analytical Phoenix instrument, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA), has baked its first soil sample to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit). Never before has a soil sample from another world been baked to such high heat.

TEGA scientists have begun analyzing the gases released at a range of temperatures to identify the chemical make-up of soil and ice. Analysis is a complicated, weeks-long process.

But "the scientific data coming out of the instrument have been just spectacular," said Phoenix co-investigator William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead TEGA scientist.

"At this point, we can say that the soil has clearly interacted with water in the past. We don't know whether that interaction occurred in this particular area in the northern polar region, or whether it might have happened elsewhere and blown up to this area as dust."

Leslie Tamppari, the Phoenix project scientist from JPL, tallied what Phoenix has accomplished during the first 30 Martian days of its mission, and outlined future plans.

The Stereo Surface Imager has by now completed about 55 percent of its three-color, 360-degree panorama of the Phoenix landing site, Tamppari said. Phoenix has analyzed two samples in its optical microscope as well as first samples in both TEGA and the wet chemistry laboratory. Phoenix has been collecting information daily on clouds, dust, winds, temperatures and pressures in the atmosphere, as well as taking first nighttime atmospheric measurements.

Lander cameras confirmed that white chunks exposed during trench digging were frozen water ice because they sublimated, or vaporized, over a few days. The Phoenix robotic arm dug and sampled, and will continue to dig and sample, at the 'Snow White' trench in the center of a polygon in the polygonal terrain.

"We believe this is the best place for creating a profile of the surface from the top down to the anticipated icy layer," Tamppari said. "This is the plan we wanted to do when we proposed the mission many years ago. We wanted a place just like this where we could sample the soil down to the possible ice layer."

The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith of The University of Arizona with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, located in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. For more information on the Phoenix mission, link to http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix and http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu.

[HURAKAN]

Phoenix Scrapes to Icy Soil in Wonderland



NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander scraped to icy soil in the "Wonderland" area on Thursday, June 26, confirming that surface soil, subsurface soil and icy soil can be sampled at a single trench.

Phoenix scientists are now assured they have a complete soil-layer profile in Wonderland's "Snow White" extended trench.

By rasping to icy soil, the robotic arm on Phoenix proved it could flatten the layer where soil meets ice, exposing the icy flat surface below the soil. Scientists can now proceed with plans to scoop and scrape samples into Phoenix's various analytical instruments. Scientists will test samples to determine if some ice in the soil may have been liquid in the past during warmer climate cycles.

It's another encouraging step to meeting Phoenix mission goals, which are to study the history of Martian water in all its phases and determine if the Martian arctic soil could support life.

[JonathanBelles]

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended
07.31.08

TUCSON, Ariz. -- 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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoen ... 80731.html

[HURAKAN]

Full-Circle Color Panorama of Phoenix Landing Site on Northern Mars
07.31.08



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 68.22 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

Link: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoen ... 15158.html

[lurkey]

Chemical discovery on Mars stumps Phoenix team
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Scientists analyzing two soil samples their Phoenix spacecraft dug from the surface of Mars announced they have discovered what may be the highly oxidizing chemical called perchlorate, a common component of rocket fuels, explosives and some medicines, they reported Monday.

The surprising discovery in the Martian soil seems contradictory, because if it really is confirmed as a perchlorate compound it suggests that the planet's soil may be very much like Earth's, said Peter Smith, the University of Arizona scientist who heads the Phoenix mission.

However, Smith said in his announcement, "further analysis has revealed un-Earthlike aspects of the soil chemistry."

And whether the chemical actually is perchlorate - or in which of its many compounds it exists in the Martian soil - has not yet been determined, Smith said. . . .

[RL3AO]

We need to find a way to bring the soil back to Earth. Since it won't be humans anytime soon, we need another way.

[HURAKAN]

We need to find a way to bring the soil back to Earth. Since it won't be humans anytime soon, we need another way.

I agree. We need a spacecraft to land on Mars, scoop a sample of the Martian soil and come back to Earth. Not exactly your typical day of work!!!

[HURAKAN]

The Canadian Meteorological Station on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander tracked some changes in daily weather patterns over the first 61 Martian days of the mission (May 26 to July 22, 2008), a period covering late spring to early summer on northern Mars.

This summary weather report notes that daily temperature ranges have changed only about 4 Celsius degrees (7 Fahrenheit degrees) since the start of the mission. The average daily high has been minus 30 degrees C (minus 22 degrees F), and the average daily low has been minus 79 degrees C (minus 110 degrees F).

The mission has been accumulating enough wind data to recognize daily patterns, such as a change in direction between day and night, and to begin analyzing whether the patterns are driven by local factors or larger-scale movement of the atmosphere.

The air pressure has steadily decreased. Scientists attribute this to a phenomenon on Mars that is not shared by Earth. The south polar cap of carbon dioxide ice grows during the southern winter on Mars, pulling enough carbon dioxide out of the thin atmosphere to cause a seasonal decrease in the amount of atmosphere Mars has. Most of the Martian atmosphere is carbon dioxide. This measurable dip in atmospheric pressure, even near the opposite pole, is a sign of large amounts of carbon dioxide being pulled out of the atmosphere as carbon-dioxide ice accumulates at the south pole.

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 NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Canadian Space Agency

Link: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoen ... _mars.html

[JonathanBelles]

Wow, that pressure change is very interesting.

[JonathanBelles]

Phoenix is now dying. As mars changes from Summer to fall, the sun light used for energy is diminishing. Therefore heaters used to heat Phoenix will be turned off one by one. We will also be losing communication during a half month eclipse period at the end of next month. There will be a very grim period for quite some time. Phoenix will begin to freeze very soon.

[HURAKAN]

Thanks a ton, Phoenix. Great job and your place in history is secure.

Phoenix Mars Landers in one of the steps in the road to fully understand Mars and our Solar System.

In a few months we will be celebrating Spirit's and Opportunity's fifth year on the red planet, incredible.

[JonathanBelles]

Interesting animation I found from NASA of Martian wind with a possible dust devil!



http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/press/16613-animated.html

[JonathanBelles]

Phoenix is now Dead.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoen ... 81110.html

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm

[HURAKAN]

THANKS!