Another Phoenix Has Landed…on Mars
I must say, for as much trash as I have talked about NASA’s limited vision of space explorations these days, they do seem to be getting an awfully big bang for the pittance we allot them. They, in cooperation with the Canadian Space Agency and two American universities, have landed the Phoenix Mars Lander.
Unlike the rovers Spirit and Opportunity, Phoenix will explore the Northern Polar Region of the planet. Also unlike the previous rover missions, Phoenix’ primary work will be downwards, not outwards. Phoenix will be doing a lot of drilling, looking to tap into the polar ice that remains at this time of year on Mars. It will be looking for traces of organic matter suspended in the ice and exploring the importance of polar ice on the overall climate of Mars, whether it be in solid or gaseous form. That’s pretty cool, in my book.
I’d expect that Phoenix will be working for quite a while and will send back lots and lots of information that will keep our big-brains really busy. The rovers Spirit and Opportunity were originally designed to last 90 days, after which their equipment would break down and they’d not be useful anymore. That was 4 1/2 years ago – about 15 times longer than the designers expected.
It is news like this that makes me proud of my country all over again. There aren’t many nations that can land a craft on Mars. There are maybe only one or two others that could put three there and have them all functioning and sending back data which we share to nearly everyone who asks.
(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
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Category: Hey, Mr. Science Guy!
