Latest news on the Phoenix Mars Lander is mostly positive. We keep getting whiffs of problems, those problems disappear, and the next we hear is the problem is solved.
We are getting some fresh whiffs in this release.
NASA and the University of Arizona, held a joint media teleconference at 10:30 a.m. PDT (1:30 p.m. EDT) on Thursday, June 26, 2008 and provided information on the Mars Mission.
Yesterday, the Phoenix put its first scoop of Martian soil into the TEGA. It is an instrument designed to test the soil samples for alkalinity and The TEGA can also determine whether water had ever been present in the soil.
In yesterdays post, I commented that I don’t think the white substance we see in the Martian pictures from the Mars Lander is ice. I think we are looking at a salt bed.
I got more validation for this idea today when I ran across an article at NASA website on called, “ “. It explains how salts can prevent life from ever developing on a planet.
The article is a good read and gives information on several of the Mars Rover Missions. It will help you better understand the numerous missions that are part of exploring Mars.
There are actually “Two Rovers Operating on Mars” at this moment. You don’t read much about the Spirit Rover, but this article will give you an update on its slow but persistent life on Mars.
The oven doors on the Phoenix Lander are not opening properly, though NASA get enough soil into the TEGA ovens to do the tests. The first batch arrived as a clump and it four days to sift it in to the TEGA oven.
Interesting NASA says that are holding the TEGA ovens with the largest door openings for “ice” samples. We shall see.
Our “whiff” of a new problem comes with news that:
“Engineers have identified possible problems in the mechanical and electrical operation of that instrument, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA.”
More on this story as it unfolds.
You can view some really great pictures of the Phoenix Mars Lander when you have the NASA Mars Screensaver. It is free and is updated regularly with the latest Mars Mission photos. Right now, it has a lot of images showing the TEGA.
Check it out. The images will give you a lot better idea of what this instrument looks like. I am curious if each oven has its own TEGA. We will get a better idea how this all works as we go along.
Anyone have an opinion on the “ice/salt” question? Let us all know what it is.
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