“Shake, Shake, Shake” Gets Soil into Phoenix TEGA

When Bill Boynton announced at a Phoenix lander team meeting earlier today that the troublesome, clumpy Martian soil now sits, finally, within the TEGA “oven” on Phoenix, the room erupted with cheers and a standing ovation. Boynton then launched a rendition of “Shake, Shake, Shake” he had cued-up on his laptop, and started dancing. If …

Phoenix Suffers Unknown Problem with Sample Analysis Oven

The first sample for scientific analysis dug from the surface of the Mars has failed to make it to the onboard oven used to test for organic compounds and water. Mission scientists have been overviewing a picture taken by the lander after Phoenix’s 8-foot long robotic arm dropped the sample on-target, but a sensor inside …

Odyssey Possibly Hit by High-Energy Particles; Phoenix Science Run About to Begin

NASA’s Mars Odyssey has been switched into “safe-mode” after possibly being hit by energetic particles from the Sun, or by cosmic rays. Acting as one of two relay satellites between Earth and Phoenix, this has hindered commands to be sent to the lander, thereby slowing its progress. Phoenix is just about to start scence digging …

Phoenix News & Weather; Full Panorama Complete, Arm “Raring To Go”

Phoenix’s Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) has finished its initial survey of the area surrounding the Phoenix lander, and returned the images to Earth for completion of the first panorama, seen above. “The panorama takes your around the entire scene,” said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith. “We see this “hummocky” terrain, with troughs in between the …

Channels, Craters and Phoenix’s Landing Site From MRO

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter had a busy week, and here are just a few of the images released from the spacecraft’s HiRISE camera. First up is this false color image of a water-carved channel in the Nili Fossae region on Mars. Billions of years ago sediments were transported across the Martian surface via this channel. …