* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: The Phoenix lander

Blobrana · L

A new space explorer is waiting in the wings and ready to take centre stage: the Mars lander called Phoenix. Phoenix's assignment is to dig through the Martian soil and ice in the arctic region and use its onboard scientific instruments to analyse the samples it retrieves.
Mars is a cold desert planet with no liquid water on its surface. But in the Martian arctic, water ice lurks just below ground level. Discoveries made by the Mars Odyssey Orbiter in 2002 show large amounts of subsurface water ice in the northern arctic plain. The Phoenix lander targets this circumpolar region using a robotic arm to dig through the protective top soil layer to the water ice below and ultimately, to bring both soil and water ice to the lander platform for sophisticated scientific analysis.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=j72quVM7c9Y]

The complement of the Phoenix spacecraft and its scientific instruments are ideally suited to uncover clues to the geologic history and biological potential of the Martian arctic. Phoenix will be the first mission to return data from either polar region providing an important contribution to the overall Mars science strategy "Follow the Water" and will be instrumental in achieving the four science goals of NASA's long-term Mars Exploration Program.

- Determine whether Life ever arose on Mars
- Characterise the Climate of Mars
- Characterise the Geology of Mars
- Prepare for Human Exploration The Phoenix Mission has two bold objectives to support these goals, which are to (1) study the history of water in the Martian arctic and (2) search for evidence of a habitable zone and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary.

Aboard the deck of the Phoenix spacecraft are a suite of science instruments representing some of the most sophisticated and advanced technology ever sent to Mars. The Phoenix Mission inherits a highly capable spacecraft partially built for the Mars Surveyor Program 2001 and important lessons learned from the Mars Polar Lander.

The spacecraft has several subsystems that are being updated, if necessary, with parts and software that will increase reliability. These subsystems include
- command and data handling, controlling the spacecraft's computer processing
- electrical power, consisting of solar panels, batteries, and associated converting circuits
- telecommunications, ensuring flow of data to and from Earth
- guidance, navigation, and control, assuring the spacecraft arrives safely at Mars
- propulsion, controlling trajectory correction manoeuvres during cruise and thrusters during landing
- structure, providing the spacecraft framework and integrity
- mechanisms, enabling the movement of several spacecraft components
- thermal-control, using heat transfer to ensure proper temperature ranges on all parts of the spacecraft.

Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Launch Location: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 17-A
Launch Date: Aug. 3, 2007
Launch Time: 5:35:18 a.m. EDT

The Delta II is designed to boost medium-sized satellites and robotic explorers into space. NASA selected a model 7925 for this mission, which is a three-stage rocket equipped with nine strap-on solid rocket boosters and a 10-foot payload fairing that will protect the spacecraft during launch.

Blobrana · L

STATUS REPORT: ELV-071307

Mission: Phoenix
Location: Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility
Launch Pad: 17-A
Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7925
Launch Date: Aug. 3, 2007
Launch Time: 09:35:18 GMT (5:35:18 a.m. EDT)

Engineers successfully performed the spin testing of Phoenix this week.
Mating of Phoenix to the upper-stage booster is scheduled for July 17.
Final installation of the heat shield onto the cruise stage will occur July 18.
Phoenix will be transported to Pad 17-A and mated to the Delta II on July 23.

Blobrana · L

Missions Depend on Planets' Weather
Two JPL managed missions are preparing for launch from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. One, the Phoenix Mars Lander, is on schedule, the other, the Dawn Mission, has been delayed.
Phoenix has a three-week launch schedule beginning on August 3 at 2:35 a.m. PST. The launch is dependent upon the Florida weather, which has been fraught with thunderstorms in the past weeks however the early morning launch time should be a benefit.
The Phoenix will arrive at Mars in the spring of 2008. Scientists and engineers expect the Martian weather to be favourable for the landing.

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Blobrana · L

After searching for months, scientists have picked a relatively rock-free, icy spot in Mars' arctic to set down the spacecraft for the Phoenix Mars Mission.
The mission, being run entirely by the University of Arizona, is scheduled to launch Aug. 3 and touch down in May.
NASA and UA scientists announced Monday that they had selected a place on Mars that is equivalent to where northern Siberia is on Earth.
The goal was to find a location in Mars' far-north region that would allow for a smooth landing, accomplished with a parachute and thrusters. The stationary lander must avoid colliding with rocks that could damage its solar panels or its sophisticated scientific instruments.

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Blobrana · L

NASA's next Mars mission will look beneath a frigid arctic landscape for conditions favourable to past or present life.
Instead of roving to hills or craters, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander will claw down into the icy soil of the Red Planet's northern plains. The robot will investigate whether frozen water near the Martian surface might periodically melt enough to sustain a liveable environment for microbes. To accomplish that and other key goals, Phoenix will carry a set of advanced research tools never before used on Mars.
First, however, it must launch from Florida during a three-week period beginning Aug. 3, then survive a risky descent and landing on Mars next spring.

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Blobrana · L

All systems are go for NASA to hurl a bundle of lab equipment toward Mars on Aug. 3, Phoenix mission leaders said Monday.
The VW Beetle-sized lander, which scientists at University of Arizona will control after landing, is expected to take to the sky as planned at 2:35 a.m. Tucson time (5:35 a.m. at Cape Canaveral), said Doug McCuistion, NASA's Mars Exploration Program director.
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Blobrana · L

A space probe designed to look for signs of life in the oceans that once covered Mars will be unveiled by NASA scientists this week.
The Phoenix Mars Lander will be sent to the icy wastelands near the red planets north polar ice cap. It will be launched next month and is expected to reach the planet in May.
When the probe lands its task will be to dig deep into the soil, scoop out chunks of ice and analyse them for signs of past or present life forms.

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Blobrana · L

NASA will hold a news briefing at 15:30 GMT (11:30 a.m. EDT) on Monday, July 9, to preview the launch of the Phoenix Mars Lander. Prior to the Phoenix presentations, media will have the opportunity to learn in more detail about the rescheduled Dawn launch. The briefing will originate from the NASA Headquarters auditorium, 300 E St., S.W., Washington. It will air live on NASA Television and be streamed online.

Source NASA

Blobrana · L

Extensive testing of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander in preparation for an August launch has uncovered a potential data-handling problem in time to modify plans for use of a camera during the final minutes of arrival at Mars.
The testing results led to a decision to take just one photograph with the spacecraft's Mars Descent Imager. The mission will still be capable of accomplishing all of its science goals.

The issue is not the camera itself, which is capable of taking multiple downward-looking images of the landing area during the final three minutes of flight. Tests of the assembled lander found that an interface card has a small possibility of triggering loss of some vital engineering data if it receives imaging data during a critical phase of final descent. That possibility is considered an unacceptable risk, and the potential problem with the interface card was identified too late for changing hardware. The card has circuitry that routes data from various parts of the payload.
The descent camera can store one image internally. The mission's science team plans to use that image to place in context observations of the landing site acquired by the lander's other tools -- including two cameras, two microscopes, a robotic arm and analytical instruments. This single view will show smaller details of the terrain than will be discernable in images acquired by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which itself can resolve features smaller than the Phoenix lander.
Preparation of the spacecraft is moving on schedule toward loading propellant before encapsulating Phoenix into the third stage of its Delta II launch vehicle in mid-July. A three-week period of launch opportunity dates begins Aug. 3.
Phoenix will go to an arctic plain where an icy layer is expected to lie within arm's reach of the surface. There it will examine whether the environment beneath the surface has been a favourable habitat for microbial life. It will also investigate the history of the water in the ice and monitor Mars' arctic weather.

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