modern exploration mars phoenix lander “the phoenix has risen!” - peter smith, august 4, 2007

Modern ExplorationMars Phoenix Lander

“The Phoenix has risen!” - Peter Smith, August 4, 2007

Modern ExplorationPhoenix

Objectives: Study the history of water in the Martian arctic Search for evidence of a habitable zone and assess the

biological potential of the ice-soil boundary


Launched August 4, 2007; landed on May 25, 2008 on the northern arctic plains

Operated for ~6 months; unlike the MER rovers, Phoenix had no chance of surviving more than 6-7 months

First Mars mission run by a university – University of Arizona


Instruments: Surface Stereo Imager (SSI); surface images Thermal & Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA); organics detection Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer

(MECA); wet chemistry lab Robotic Arm (RA); sampling & imaging; rasp tool Robotic Arm Camera (RAC); imaging RA scoop before dumping

samples, imaging below the lander deck Meteorological Station (MET); daily weather, first LIDAR on Mars Mars Descent Imager (MARDI); take images as Phoenix was

descending


All images courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University


NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona


NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University


NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona


Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona


Notable results from Phoenix Confirmation of Odyssey/GRS measurements of subsurface

water-ice Detection of falling snow Perchlorate (toxic) found in the soils; caused the soil to be

surprisingly sticky, very similar to soils in the Antarctic Dry Valleys


How did Phoenix advance scientific understanding of Mars? Science is on-going

What technological advance(s) did Phoenix carry? LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)

Future Exploration

What are the big questions that will guide future investigations of Mars? Did life ever evolve on Mars? And, if so, does it still persist in

the near- or deep-subsurface? How does one reconcile the growing evidence that the

ancient valley networks of Mars were formed by rainfall yet early Martian climate models fail to produce conditions suitable for water to exist as a liquid?

Did early Mars have a northern ocean? Was the detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere real

or the product of observational error? If real, what is the source of that methane?

modern exploration mars phoenix lander “the phoenix has risen!” - peter smith, august 4, 2007

Documents

phoenix carry

university slide

future exploration

descending slide

icesoil boundary slide

early mars

images courtesy of nasajpl

mars mission