Phoenix Makes First Trench In Science Preserve

MARSDAILY

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander began excavating a new trench, dubbed "Snow White," in a patch of Martian soil near the center of a polygonal surface feature, nicknamed "Cheshire Cat." Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A and M University/NASA Ames

by Staff Writers
Tucson AZ (SPX) Jun 19, 2008
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander began digging in an area called "Wonderland" early Tuesday, taking its first scoop of soil from a polygonal surface feature within the "national park" region that mission scientists have been preserving for science.

The lander's Robotic Arm created the new test trench called "Snow White" on June 17, the 22nd Martian day, or sol, after the Phoenix spacecraft landed on May 25. Newly planned science activities will resume no earlier than Sol 24 as engineers look into how the spacecraft is handling larger than expected amounts of data.

During Tuesday's dig, the arm didn't reach the hard white material, possibly ice, that Phoenix exposed previously in the first trench it dug into the Martian soil.

That's just what scientists both expected and wanted. The Snow White trench is near the center of a relatively flat hummock, or polygon, named "Cheshire Cat," where scientists predict there will be more soil layers or thicker soil above possible white material.

The Snow White trench is about two centimeters deep (about three-quarters of an inch) and 30 centimeters (about a foot) long. The Phoenix team plans at least one more day of digging deeper into the Snow White trench.

They will study soil structure in the Snow White trench to decide at what depths they will collect samples from a future trench planned for the center of the polygon.

Meanwhile, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) instrument continues its ongoing experiment in the first of its eight ovens.

TEGA has eight separate tiny ovens to bake and sniff the soil to look for volatile ingredients, such as water. The baking is performed at three different temperature ranges.

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

MARSDAILY

NASA Phoenix Lander Bakes Sample As Arm Digs Deeper

Tucson AZ (SPX) Jun 18, 2008
One of the ovens on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander continued baking its first sample of Martian soil over the weekend, while the Robotic Arm dug deeper into the soil to learn more about white material first revealed on June 3.

CIVIL NUCLEAR Areva to create world's largest uranium mine in Namibia Russian Nuclear Agency Rejects Rumors Of Radiation Leaks Japan PM says wants 'normal' ties with NKorea IAEA meet to protect nuclear plants from earthquakes	CLIMATE SCIENCE US should take on lead role in climate change battle: envoy US envoy says no 'G8 solution' to climate change China biggest CO2 emitter last year: Dutch agency UN climate chief spurs talks on new global warming pact
FARM NEWS US breadbasket state Iowa faces crop losses from flooding EU to raise ceilings on fishing fuel aid, but no move on tuna ban Panic over delayed rainfall grips northern Nigeria Italian and French fishermen oppose blue fin tuna ban	FLORA AND FAUNA Most of panda habitat damaged or destroyed in China quake Unlocking The Genome Of The Worst Bug On Planet Earth Scientists Confirm That Parts Of Earliest Genetic Material May Have Come From The Stars Taking The Temperature Of The No-Fly Zone
ROCKET SCIENCE NASA, ATK Conduct First Launch Abort System Igniter Test For Orion Orion's New Launch Abort Motor Test Stand Ready For Action Researchers To Upgrade Safety And Performance Of Rocket Fuel NASA chief backs proposal for European spaceship	NUCLEAR SPACE Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2 Outside View: Nuclear future in space Nuclear Power In Space
EARTH OBSERVATION NMSU Uses Information Collected In Space To Help Those On The Ground Aster Images Sichuan Earthquake In China Japanese astronaut says Earth is 'beautiful' EarthCARE Earthcare Satellite Contract Signed	TECH SPACE Integral Systems Integrated Solution To Support JCSAT-12 AF Engineers Create Thermal Control System For Space Use Students Prepare For Dust Up In Space Microsoft Surface computers hit Las Vegas party scene

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement