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Science Forum Index » Geology Forum » Phoenix Sends Back More Mars Images...
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| John Adams... |
 Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 6:33 pm |
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/27/tech/main4129628.shtml
(CBS/AP) Fresh images sent back by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander from the
Martian northern polar region showed most of its science instruments
were in good shape, mission scientists said.
The one snag on the lander occurred when the protective sheath around
the trench-digging robotic arm failed to unwrap all the way after
touchdown and now covers the arm's elbow joint.
Deputy project scientist Deborah Bass of NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory said scientists still planned to move the arm Tuesday, but it
could take an extra day to fully stretch it.
"I would say this is an inconvenience," Bass said Monday.
Since landing on Mars on Sunday, Phoenix has delighted scientists with
the first-ever peek of the planet's unexplored northern latitudes. The
terrain where Phoenix settled is relatively flat with polygon-shaped
patterns in the ground likely caused by the expansion and contraction of
underground ice.
Phoenix will dig into the soil using its 8-foot-long arm to reach the
ice believed to be buried inches to a foot deep.
The lander will study whether the site could have supported primitive
life. Among the things it will look for is whether the ice melted in
Mars' history and whether the soil samples contain traces of organic
compounds, one of the building blocks of life. |
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