Posted on 05/30/2008 4:49:11 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
TUCSON, Ariz. - Scientists for the Phoenix Mars Lander are wrestling with an intermittent short circuit on the spacecraft.
The problem is in a device that will analyze ice and soil dug from the planet's surface, the scientists said Friday. The short circuit was found during testing done before the mission's experiments get under way.
The short circuit isn't considered critical, said William Boyton of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. Boynton is in charge of the device that will heat and analyze samples scooped up by the lander's robotic arm.
He said scientists know what is triggering the problem and what actions make it go away, and are working on solutions.
Phoenix was designed to study whether the Martian north pole region could support primitive life forms and is to perform several experiments seeking traces of organic compounds.
Team members in charge of the robotic arm said new photos show the lander may be resting on splotches of ice. Washington University scientist Ray Arvidson the spacecraft's thrusters may have uncovered the ice when the robot landed last Sunday. Mission planners aimed the craft to the red planet's northern regions hoping to find ice just under the surface.
"We're really pushing for ice but we don't know if that's the case yet," Arvidson said.
The three-month mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Surface Stereo Imager Right on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander acquired the individual images that are combined into this one view, provided by NASA, Thursday, May 29, 2008. The spacecraft successfully freed its 8-foot robotic arm from the restraints that kept it folded up and protected from vibrations during the launch and landing, scientists said Thursday. Preparations are now under way to partially flex the arm. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
Phoenix Mars: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu
now I know why Marvin’s always pissed.
Damn Martian kids were using it as a soccer ball, I bet.
This image taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander May 29, 2008 and released by NASA May 30 shows how exhaust from the descent engine on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander blew away surface material to reveal what scientists believe is either rock or ice (top center). REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona/Handout
ice mixed with dust = ???
Ice mixed with Salt.
This picture released by NASA on May 27 shows one of the
Phoenix Mars Lander's feet planted on the Martian surface.
NASA has cleared up a malfunction that for several hours caused
a rupture in communications between Phoenix Mars Lander.
(AFP/NASA)
(Just practicing for when I go to the DU site.)
Uh oh, what did they find, lights out time..
AKA, lead free.
Tin has the tendency to grow "whiskers", causing shorts.
Lead ameliorates that.
OTOH, it could just be a bad joint, between the stresses of takeoff and landing, and the temperature variations on the surface.
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