Mars Lander Problem Update

The latest update from NASA reports that the Phoenix Mars Lander’s Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) is experiencing serious circuit problems.

It seemed as if the Phoenix was impatiently pawing in the Martian soil last week. What was delaying the movement of those soil samples in to the TEGA? Now we know.

There have been hints of circuit problems since the Phoenix arrived on the Martian surface 35 Sols ago. The Mars Lander went to the computer back-up operating system immediately upon arrival.

As I followed this story over the past several weeks I have found the basic mother board on the Phoenix was made by IBM, and is running UNIX software.

The Operating System is installed on the mother board in a chip, much like the Bios on your personal computer. I have seen the mother board on the Phoenix Lander described on Tech blogs as “twice today’s Xbox and running at 128 MHz”.

NASA team engineers recently did a software fix completely using the one flash drive available for the Mars Lander. The software fix appeared to take care of known “circuit” problems at the time.

The TEGA circuit problems appear to be related to a faulty circuit. I don't know if this circuit is hard wired, or on a board. A circuit with a fault can short circuit, and a short circuit can burn out your wiring. When you burn out your wiring, nothing works.

Concerns are that the soil samples gathered last week have dried out.

The NASA team understands they may have only one test performed by the TEGA before the circuits go. They want that one soil sample to tell them about the Martian soil substance believed to be ice.

NASA is planning to deliver a fresh soil sample to the TEGA Sunday morning. The NASA team then plans to send the signal for the TEGA to begin testing immediately.

Soon we will all have more answers.

Smile. ET

Opps CNN...there are two rovers on Mars

Just wanted to note that the commentator in the CNN video of the Phoenix Mars Lander says it is the first landing on Mars in thirty years. Not sure he had his info straight on that.

Turns out there are actually two rovers active on Mars at this moment. Admitedly, the Spirit rover is moving in slow motion, but it is on Mars and in communication with NASA. 

You will find more on this story in the article "Two Rovers Active on Mars" over at Uduzit.

I have another interesting story or two to share with you from my space exploration surfing this week.  

Normally, I will post on Galaxy Voyager about five times a week, and more often with breaking news. I am on a roll this weekend.

Do enjoy! 

Smiles. ET

Welcome to Galaxy Voyager

It is nice to have you drop by. Let me explain where the Galaxy Voyager blog is going.

We will scour the Internet for the latest news, best blogs, and the greatest websites on the subject of Space Exploration. We will update regularly so you will be assured you will find  the latest information on a variety of subjects.

The Blog List at the bottom of this page represents the best resources I can currently find on the Internet related to Space Exploration. You have the classic NASA and Hubble websites, and others with a great deal of information on space exploration and space travel.

I also have mentioned several blogs that cover Space. You will find basic coverage of the Phoenix Mars Lander Mission on Uduzit.

The current hot story is yesterdays'  NASA news release concerning mounting evidence of water on Mars. Uduzit covers that story, though Ethan over at Starts With A Bang has quite a different take on the subject.

We will be watching the Mars Mission closely, so to start you out I have included the original news clip for the successful landing of the Phoenix Mars Lander 23 days ago. We will use plenty videos, images, and animations to tell our news here.