Phoenix craft to dig under Mars ice (landing planned 25 May)

marcus

http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/11767.html

25 May it will parachute down and at the last moment let go the chute and use retrorockets

it will not land on the polar icecap itself but on a level plain where they think there is ice a foot or so down below surface

it has a digging tool so it can dig down and take samples from the presumed ice layer and also sample the SOIL immediately beneath the ice---which is of special interest because of its exposure to water.

onboard chemical analysis

B. Elliott

Now only T-7 hours!

Here's the University of Arizona's Phoenix homepage with updates.
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mission.php

Landing coverage will be aired live on the Discovery Science channel, starting at 4pm and running till 6pm Pacific time. Live coverage will also be aired on NASA tv. One NASA tv link is listed by Space.com...
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches...-coverage.html

marcus

B. Elliott, thank for the links!

There is a beautiful animation of the landing and deployment as it is supposed to go
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080525m.html

It is a real treat to watch. The initial fiery descent, with the heat shield. The paracute sequence. And the animation puts it all against a backdrop of Mars landscape and clouds. Then it shows disconnecting from the parachute and free-fall followed by firing the retro-rockets and the actual landing. Then the beautiful way the various things unfold.

Here's hoping all goes as planned. I guess we will know in a few hours. Supposed to start around 7:30 PM Eastern.

B. Elliott

You're welcome marcus. Thank you for posting the complete entry animation. I've seen snippets, but not the complete film till now.

Here's two informative Youtube videos that I posted in the GD section...

I really liked the production with this one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2ucH1PT4LQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j72quVM7c9Y

I'm anxious to see how this mission unfolds considering this is the first thruster landing in quite some time, and this being the first time we're actually digging to a considerable depth. I do wish that we were digging on an order of meters rather than just inches, though. Can't wait till we do!

B. Elliott

T-9 minutes!

Laura1013

Yay successful landing! How exciting. :)

marcus

NY Times announcement of successful landing (already old news)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/sc...ce&oref=slogin

Theelectricchild

This is excellent news. I can't wait to learn about what it uncovers.

marcus

Me too.

Another piece of good news
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/05_25_endofday.php

the Phoenix made a second transmission a couple of hours after the first short report of touchdown. The second transmission sent a PICTURE and it confirmed that the solar panels had unfolded and deployed properly.

So now it no longer has to rely on chemical battery power. It hasn't tried out its 7 foot long digging arm yet, but it looks like otherwise it is in business and can start work.

here's an earlier press release made after touchdown
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/05_25_landed_pr.php

these seem like good press releases, so we should keep watching the site to get more
here is one link
http://fawkes3.lpl.arizona.edu/news.php
and that offers a number of resources including this NEWS ARCHIVE with current and past press releases:
http://fawkes3.lpl.arizona.edu/newsArchive.php

there is also a picture gallery including a dozen or so pictures taken by Phoenix

these are links that all branch out from the one B. Elliott gave earlier---I am gradually learning to navigate the Phoenix site and find what I want.

baywax

Yeah!!! We've got the laser that's checking climate on the Phoenix. Built in Canada what what... pity!.

Congrats you beautiful Americans!!!! Thanks for the 400 million mile ride!! (typical Canucks always hitchin' a ride.)

Theelectricchild

Thanks for the links Marcus. It's amazing how there was little to no dust on the solar arrays after they deployed! Now that the Phoenix can harness the sun's energy as best as possible let's just see how it holds up during the Martian nights. =)

baywax

If this isn't already posted, here's where the photos are being uploaded as they come in....

http://fawkes3.lpl.arizona.edu/gallery.php

baywax

Here's what the Canadian Space Agency contributed to the Phoenix Mars probe.

http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/exploration/phoenix.asp

There's some job opportunities there as well, hint hint.

marcus

Just to keep this updated. Yesterday 28 May they sent it the command to move its arm.

So we are waiting for confirmation that it can successfully unfold and extend its arm for digging. If anybody has some news on that, please post it!
http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/05_28_pr.php
NASA's Phoenix Spacecraft Commanded to Unstow Arm

baywax

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science...nix-prep_N.htm

marcus

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/05_29_pr.php
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Puts Arm and Other Tools to Work

so the arm is now unstowed and functional

Part of the 29 May report is about the LIDAR:

"Another milestone for the mission included the activation of the laser instrument called light detection and ranging instrument, or lidar.

"The Canadians are walking on moonbeams. It's a huge achievement for us," said Jim Whiteway Canadian Science lead from York University, Toronto. The lidar is a critical component of Phoenix's weather station, provided by the Canadian Space Agency. The instrument is designed to detect dust, clouds and fog by emitting rapid pulses of green laser-like light into the atmosphere. The light bounces off particles and is reflected back to a telescope.

"One of the main challenges we faced was to deliver the lidar from the test lab in Ottawa, Canada, to Mars while maintaining its alignment within one one-hundredth of a degree," said Whiteway. "That's like aiming a laser pointer at a baseball at a distance from home plate to the center field wall, holding that aim steady after launch for a year in space, then landing," he added.

Lidar data shows dust aloft to a height of 3.5 kilometers (2 miles). The weather at the Phoenix landing site on the second day following landing was sunny with moderate dust, with a high of minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit) and a low of minus 80 (minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit)."

baywax

Yep! Walking on Moombeams! Pretty cool!

Last time I saw "Lidar" spelt out, it was "Ledar".