Phoenix Mars Lander.

[centsworth_II]

Phoenix is not designed to look for life. It has no <br />instruments to detect biological activity. I'm sure <br />there will be plenty of fun to be had looking for <br />microorganisms and microfossils in the atomic <br />force microscope, but its purpose is to look at <br />the microscopic features of sand and dust<br />grains, not to look for life. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[3488]

MPL on Mars.<br /><br />I did think that MPL was not looking for life, but rather test the soils, rocks, etc of the Martian Arctic to ascertain the history of the area as to whether or not conditions were condusive for life in the very remote past, as the MERs are doing.<br /><br />Also the data set, images, etc, will be used in context with the images, data, etc from Viking 1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, MER A Spirit & MER B Opportunity. This if successful will be the first successful high latitude landing on Mars.<br /><br />Andrew Brown.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

The Phoenix Has Landed: Mars Probe Airlifted to KSC from Colorado <br />By Leonard David<br />Special Correspondent, SPACE.com<br />posted: 10 May 2007<br />04:48 pm ET<br /><br />CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's next mission to Mars has made one small step for a robot - safely arriving here in Florida via a cargo aircraft. The Phoenix Mars lander is now undergoing its first checkouts for a sendoff to the red planet in August. <br /><br />A U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft transported Phoenix from Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado to Florida on May 7. The Mars probe was caravanned by truck to the base in a nitrogen-purged container, dispatched from the Mars lander's builder, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in Denver.<br /><br />In an orchestrated dance of "loadmasters", Phoenix and associated hardware received tender loving care as they were tucked within the cavernous C-17 for shipment to the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida.<br /><br />Inside the chained down, sensor-laden, nitrogen-purged container, Phoenix itself was "double-bagged" said Tim Gasparrini, an engineering manager for Lockheed Martin Space Systems. That container maintained the spacecraft in a dry and clean state so that it can perform its science when it gets to Mars, he added.<br /><br /><br />Flight of the Phoenix<br /><br />Here in Florida, work is also underway in prepping the booster for Phoenix - a Boeing-built Delta 2 rocket, handled under the auspices of the newly formed United Launch Alliance. <br /><br />Targeted for an early August liftoff, Phoenix will cruise through space then land on a Martian arctic plain in May 2008. The robot is outfitted with a powerful digging arm and other instruments to determine whether the soil environment beneath the surface in that location might be a cozy hangout for microbial life. <br /><br />As Phoenix was being prepared for airlift from Colorado to Florida, Ed Sedivy, Phoenix program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, paced about the ta <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

This is getting exciting!!!! <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><br /><br />BELOW: The unwrapped Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[JonClarke]

The Phoenix mission has several instruments that will detect biosignatures.<br /><br />Science objective Objective 2: Search for Evidence of Habitable Zone and Assess the Biological Potential of the Ice-Soil Boundary http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/science03.php<br /><br />"Phoenix will assess the habitability of the Martian northern environment by using sophisticated chemical experiments to assess the soil's composition of life giving elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and hydrogen. Identified by chemical analysis, Phoenix will also look at reduction-oxidation (redox) molecular pairs that may determine whether the potential chemical energy of the soil can sustain life, as well as other soil properties critical to determine habitability such as pH and saltiness."<br /><br />Two instrument suites, TEGA and MECA, are designed for this role. They will also look specifically for organic compounds and measure isotopic ratios indicative of biological activity. http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/science04.php<br /><br />Jon<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[3488]

Hi Jon,<br /><br />I am looking forward to the images, the chemical comparisons between where we have<br /> been before on Mars, climate reports, sounds, not to<br />mention the Martian Midnight Sun (hope a time lapse movie will be made of the sun skimming the northern horizon).<br /><br />I was not aware that MPL was actually going to be looking for life, <br />present or past, but was looking at historical evidence of the environment.<br />That in itself will be fascinating, revealing (hopefully), how the <br />varying axial tilt & varying eccentricity of Mars over billions of years, have altered its climate.<br /><br />I just hope beyond hope, that MPL lands successfully & that there, are<br />no mistakes as happened with the ill fated Mars Polar Lander.<br /><br />Talking of which, shortly the HiRISE on MRO, is to look at the landing ellipse of that doomed craft & hopefully, we can<br />find out what really happened.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[centsworth_II]

<i><b>"The mass spectrometer is sensitive to detection levels down to 10 parts per <br />billion, a level that may detect minute quantities of organic molecules potentially <br />existing in the ice and soil.<br /><br />With these precise measurement capabilities, scientists will be able to determine <br />ratios of various isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, providing <br />clues to origin of the volatile molecules, and possibly, biological processes that <br />occurred in the past."</b></i> <br />http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/science_tega.php<br /><br />Interesting. I'm assuming this instrument detects the carbon in CO2, which<br />could be dissolved in the water ice mixed in the soil being studied. This is<br />exciting because if life existed at any time during Mars' history, it could have<br />permanently skewed the isotope ratio. This record would be spread planet-<br />wide in the ubiquitous CO2 and be detected no matter how far away the <br />life occured, in space or in time.<br /><br />I hope I'm not overstating the case. I like to remain realistic on the subject<br />of life on Mars. On the other hand, if no detectable life-induced carbon<br />isotope ratio shift is detected, how much damage does this do to the <br />case for past life on Mars?<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[3488]

If MPL does detect the Carbon isotope ratio necessary for past Martian life, could it tell us:<br /><br />1). How far did life evolve before becoming extinct?<br /><br />2). How long ago did life die out?<br /><br />3). What was the final / predominant cause of extinction?<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[centsworth_II]

My own, <b>inexpert</b> thoughts:<br /><br />The size of deviation from the normally expected carbon isotope ratio<br />would be affected by the size and lifespan of a biomass, so a larger<br />deviation would indicate a larger and/or longer-lived presence of life.<br /><br />A shift in carbon isotope ratios indication biological activity would not<br />show how far in the past the activity took place. So it could be from<br />billions of years ago up to the present. No way to tell.<br /><br />A major event in the evolution of life on Earth was the development of<br />aerobic metabolism -- the use of oxygen. This provided more energy<br />and allowed for the development of larger , multicelled, organisms.<br />Detecting a shift in oxygen isotope ratios due to biological activity <br />could indicate that this milestone had been achieved on Mars.<br />I don't know if anaerobic life would also shift the oxygen isotope ratios<br />thus confounding this conclusion. <br />(Actually, the major development could be seen as the development of<br />photosynthesis -- the production of oxygen -- which then lead to the <br />development of aerobic metabolism.) <br /><br />Disclaimer: <br />The above musings should not imply an assumtion that life does or<br />has ever existed on Mars. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[h2ouniverse]

Thank you centsworth, andrew, jon for these precisions.<br />MPL is clearly not an exobiology mission in the first place. This being said, I cannot remember where I read that MPL could look for bio-signatures but I am pretty sure I read it. May be some hope to extrapolate from chemical analyses. The reason why I was asking whether the instruments (whatever they are) passed a kind of reality test is that some say the Viking experiment that concluded to absence of life would not have been able to detect Rio Tinto extremophiles. I wonder whether any of the Mars-bound missions in development include plans to test their chemical-analysis instruments this way... May be not MPL, but the next ones?<br />(for Exomars, this is too soon, they are just beginning phase B) .

 

[MeteorWayne]

Mission: Phoenix <br />Location: Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility <br />Launch Pad: 17-A <br />Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7925 <br />Launch Date: Aug. 3, 2007 <br />Launch Time: 15:35:18 a.m. EDT <br /><br />Spacecraft spin-balance testing is under way.<br />The spacecraft will be powered to begin testing on May 14.<br />The heat shield will be installed on May 15, and a separation test <br />will then be performed.<br />The spacecraft's electrical power system will undergo a final <br />performance test on May 17.<br />The flight software will be loaded aboard the spacecraft on May 21.<br />Previous status reports are available on the Web at:<br /><br />http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2007 <br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

This too is great news.<br /><br />Thank you very much MeteorWayne.<br /><br />MPL & DAWN, will hopefully reveal much!!!. Great missions.<br /><br />Hopefully soon, a final landing site will be selected!!!<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[portercc]

DVD placed on lander.<br />http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/messages/20070523.html<br />This is going to be a fun mission!

 

[3488]

I take it that your name is on there too?<br /><br />Mine is.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[portercc]

Sure is. <br />Did you receive their update yesterday?

 

[3488]

Sorry portercc,<br /><br />I should have replied sooner.<br /><br />I did get the update at work.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Map of three potential landing areas.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Impression of Mars Phoenix Lander cruising.<br /><br />The MPL is encapsulated within the circular capsule in front.<br /><br />The solar panels on the Cruise Stage can be seen at the rear.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Schematic of entire Mars Phoenix Lander, including Cruise Stage.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Mars Phoenix Lander encapsulated, about to undergo a vacuum test.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

(05/28/2007) --- KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The mobile service towers on <br />Launch Pads 17-A (left) and 17-B (right) <br />are silhouetted against the pre-dawn sky at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. <br />In the background are the launch gantries. <br />Pad 17-A is the site for the launch of the Mars Phoenix Lander, August 3. <br />(Pad 17-B will be for the DAWN spacecraft to 4 Vesta & 1 Ceres). <br />Mars Phoenix Lander will be sent to the north polar<br />region on Mars.<br /><br />Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller. <br /><br />Andrew Brown. <br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[portercc]

Great information. <br />Looking forward to the science.

 

[holmec]

Sweet pics! Thanks. <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

06.06.07<br />George H. Diller<br />Kennedy Space Center, Fla.<br />321-867-2468<br />STATUS REPORT: ELV-060607<br />EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE STATUS REPORT<br /><br />Mission: Phoenix <br />Location: Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility <br />Launch Pad: 17-A <br />Launch Vehicle: Delta II 7925 <br />Launch Date: Aug. 3, 2007 <br />Launch Time: 5:35:18 a.m. EDT <br /><br />Spacecraft processing is on schedule. The landing radar was integrated <br />with the spacecraft on Tuesday, and testing is now under way.<br />An entry, descent and landing system verification test is scheduled <br />for June 7 - 8. <br /><br />Previous status reports are available on the Web at:<br /><br />http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/2007 <br /><br /> <br />-end-<br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Thanks again MeteorWayne.<br /><br />I will troll around the JPL site later & see if there are any new picturs.<br /><br />I'm off out now (I am let out you know from time to time), will be back later.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>