Posted on 08/03/2007 4:57:22 PM PDT by LdSentinal
August 03, 2007 (Computerworld) -- In December 1999, NASA's long-awaited Mars Polar Lander space mission came to an abrupt and disappointing end when the spacecraft apparently smashed into the surface of the planet as it attempted to touch down. It was never heard from again.
Saturday morning, however, some of the experiments that would have been performed on that mission eight years ago, plus new exploratory projects, will be launched to Mars on the Phoenix Mars Lander. The spacecraft is expected to land on the planet's surface 122 million miles away on May 25.
Phoenix is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., atop a 13-story-tall Delta II launch vehicle at 5:26 a.m. EDT tomorrow.
Chris Lewicki, the Phoenix flight systems engineer for the mission, called the package of experiments on the Phoenix Lander "a kind of science chemistry lab for soil analysis." One of the main goals of the mission is to dig deeply into the Martian soil to find buried ice that will provide more information about the presence of water on the planet.
"Phoenix is actually going where the water is," on the planet's north pole, where the lander will have about 90 days to conduct experiments before the subfreezing cold of the Mars winter begins and ultimately disables the lander's power generation and heating systems, Lewicki said.
Scientists have learned through images taken using special gamma ray spectrometers from an earlier Odyssey orbiter mission that there is an abundance of frozen hydrogen -- a critical ingredient of water -- under the soil in the area where Phoenix is scheduled to land.
Those high levels of frozen hydrogen, seen in the gamma ray images, are apparently deep enough under the soil that they have not melted or evaporated, Lewicki said. Mars has no liquid water on its surface, and scientists have been debating for years whether there is frozen water on the planet.
The experiments will be conducted using a larger and more powerful robotic arm and an onboard chemistry lab equipped with several high-temperature ovens, an assortment of small beakers and other specialized equipment. The experiments are designed to help scientists learn more about how long hydrogen has been present on the planet, as well as what other trace elements and frozen gases might be trapped in it.
Soil and other materials scooped up by the robotic arm can be mixed with water and other substances, then can be heated and stirred to learn more about their makeup and conditions. An optical microscope and a special camera will be used to examine the samples more closely.
A meteorological experiment package from the Canadian Space Agency will also be on board to monitor the atmosphere, said Lewicki, who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
1043 GMT (6:43 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 76 minutes, 30 seconds. The second stage has completed its second burn of this launch. In the next minute, tiny thrusters on the side of the rocket will be fired to spin up the vehicle in preparation for jettison of the second stage.
Lift off for Nasa’s Mars probe
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6926880.stm
(Artist’s depiction of lander on Mars at the end of article.)
Nighttime space shots are just amazing to watch from Cocoa Beach!
Congratulations Two Thirds! Freepers are the best and brightest.
WoooHooo Phoenix!
I hope those little Grey bastids don’t knock this one out like the others.
Thanks, prairie! I was getting blue in the face there when we were supposed to get data from the third stage and nothing came back. Finally, it was confirmed that Phoenix was talking to us and orienting solar arrays to the Sun. I so wish we would have launched on ATLAS V ..... :))
Congrats on a successful launch all!
Nasa should be defunded, but only after defunding all foreign aid and sending hospital bills to Mexico.
nah the Greys live underground in the southwest ! the martians built the pyramids in egypt though lol
Bah humbug. NASA does really well with the unmanned missions. It’s the manned program where the politicians interfere that they have troubles.
I thought it was the GGG - "Great Galactic Ghoul" that's been disrupting Mars missions for the 40+ years.
Of course, there's the 1950s radio shows takes on problems exploring space. I was re-listening to "Dimension-X" the other night, and came across the epi called "No Contact". It's probably close to what you had in mind.
I think it got remade in other radio shows as well, and probably inspired Rod Serling for an epi or three.
This will be exciting news to the most brilliant member of the House Subcommittee on space, Sheila Jackson Lee.
ENJOY THE MOCKING - http://youtube.com/watch?v=e71apabmtY4
spaceflightnow.com
1210 GMT (8:10 a.m. EDT)
“The launch team did a spectacular job getting us on the way,” said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager. “Our trajectory is still being evaluated in detail; however we are well within expected limits for a successful journey to the red planet. We are all thrilled!”
1108 GMT (7:08 a.m. EDT)
Confirmation of a successful launch has been announced by Chuck Dovale, the NASA launch manager.
NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft has embarked on its 10-month, 420-million-mile cruise from Earth to Mars, departing aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket this morning bound for the Red Planet to examine the frozen water in the northern plains that could be a habitable zone for life.
1102 GMT (7:02 a.m. EDT)
Data from Phoenix indicates the spacecraft reorienting itself to point its solar arrays toward the sun, a NASA spokesman says. Health checks of Phoenix systems are underway.
1056 GMT (6:56 a.m. EDT)
T+plus 90 minutes, 20 seconds. The Deep Space Network tracking site in Goldstone, California, has acquired a signal from the Phoenix spacecraft.
spaceflightnow.com
1505 GMT (11:05 a.m. EDT)
As of 11 a.m., the Phoenix spacecraft is 365,000 miles from Earth and speeding along at 12,300 mph relative to Earth.
Since it’s launch at 5:26 a.m. EDT, the craft has traveled 2,180,000 miles or nearly half the way to the moon’s orbit. There’s 420 million miles left to go.
The moon is roughly 250,000 miles from earth, unless my Meyer’s is out of date.
missed the whole darn thing, Thanks for the screen shots!
“speeding along at 12,300 mph relative to Earth.’
How fast is that relative to the Sun? ;)
From the precision of the numbers made available so far I’d estimate something in the range 2-4 mph give or take 1000.
LOL, That’s GREAT, Doug! I’m still laughing!!!
PS: I think she went to the wrong “Space Committee”.
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