Phoenix mission - Page 2

Omicron Persei 8 · #31 (**permalink**) 06-April-2006, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VenusROVER

what you guys cant take a joke relax man

There is playful joking and then there is inappropriate behavoir...

VenusROVER · #32 (**permalink**) 06-April-2006, 02:06 AM

Relax take a big breath in and out

VenusROVER · #33 (**permalink**) 06-April-2006, 02:07 AM

wow i'm glad he's not a moderator

ToSeek · #34 (**permalink**) 26-April-2006, 08:43 PM

Latest press release:

Quote:

News Release: 2006-066 April 26, 2006

Pieces of NASA'S Next Mars Mission are Coming Together

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, the next mission to the surface of Mars, is beginning a new phase in preparation for a launch in August 2007.

As part of this "assembly, test and launch operations" phase, Phoenix team members are beginning to add complex subsystems such as the flight computer, power systems and science instruments to the main structure of the spacecraft. The work combines efforts of Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver; the University of Arizona, Tucson; and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

"All the subsystems and instruments from a wide range of suppliers are tested separately, but now we are beginning the vital stage of assembling them together and testing how they will function with each other," said JPL's Barry Goldstein, project manager for Phoenix.

Phoenix will land near the red planet's north polar ice cap to analyze scooped-up samples of icy soil.

"We know there is plenty of water frozen into the surface layer of Mars at high latitudes. We've designed Phoenix to tell us more about this region as a possible habitat for life," said the University of Arizona's Peter Smith, principal investigator for the mission.

Phoenix is the first mission of NASA's Mars Scout Program of competitively proposed, relatively low-cost missions to Mars. The program is currently soliciting proposals for a 2011 Scout mission.

The Phoenix proposal, selected in 2003, saves expense by using a lander structure, subsystem components and protective aeroshell originally built for a 2001 lander mission that was canceled while in development. The budget for the Phoenix mission, including launch, is $386 million.

The spacecraft will land using descent thrusters just prior to touchdown, rather than airbags like those used by the current Mars Exploration Rovers. As Phoenix parachutes through Mars' lower atmosphere in May 2008, a descent camera will take images for providing geological context about the landing site.

The robotic arm being built for Phoenix will be about 2 meters (7 feet) long, jointed at the elbow and wrist, and equipped with a camera and scoop. It will dig as deep as about 50 centimeters (20 inches) and deliver samples to instruments on the spacecraft deck that will analyze physical and chemical properties of the ices and other materials. A stereo color camera will examine the landing site's terrain and provide positioning information for the arm. The Canadian Space Agency is providing a suite of weather instruments for Phoenix.

"The propulsion system and the wiring harness have been added to the vehicle," said Ed Sedivy, Phoenix program manager for Lockheed Martin. "We will be loading flight software onto the flight computer in the next few days. The flight software is much more mature than typical for a planetary program at this stage. As soon as the flight computer is mated up, we can apply external power to the vehicle."

Navigation components, such as star trackers, and communication subsystems will become part of the spacecraft in coming weeks, followed by science instruments in the summer.

Phoenix will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in May 2007, for final preparations leading up to launch. Before that, testing in Colorado will subject the spacecraft to expected operational environments. This includes thermal and vacuum tests simulating the 10-month trip to Mars and conditions on Mars' surface. Meanwhile, the mission is preparing a test facility in Tucson for practicing and testing procedures for operating the spacecraft on Mars.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Phoenix for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit http://www.nasa.gov . For information about the Phoenix Mission to Mars on the Web, visit http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu.

ToSeek · #35 (**permalink**) 20-June-2006, 05:26 PM

Engineering Science Payload Delivered to Mars Phoenix Mission "PIT"

Quote:

The stage is built.

The lights are in.

The computer "brain" that simulates the workings of the Phoenix Mars Lander spacecraft and runs its science payload and telecommunications system is ready for action.

Now a team at the Phoenix Science Operations Center (SOC) at The University of Arizona in Tucson has begun adding engineering models of science payload instruments to a mock lander.

The mock lander is central to the Payload Interoperability Testbed, or "PIT." SOC and the PIT will be the theater of operations for the Phoenix Mission, both for pre-landing practice and post-landing science surface mission operations.

tlbs101 · #36 (**permalink**) 21-June-2006, 05:11 PM

I got my print version of Military & Aerospace Electronics on Monday. The online version is a month behind, so I can't link to this article, just yet.

This article is about integrating components onto the actual spacecraft at JPL in Pasadena.

Electronic pieces of NASA's next Mars mission are coming together

Quote:

Designers of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, the next mission to the surface of Mars, is beginning a new phase in preparation for a launch in August, 2007.

As part of this assembly, test, and launch operations phase, Phoenix team members are beginning to add complex subsystems such as the flight computer, power systems, and science instruments to the main structure of the spacecraft. The work combines efforts of Lockheed Martin Space systems in Denver, the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

The article goes on to say that the flight software will be loaded for the first time, this week, and the science instruments will start to be added later this summer (as was indicated in the article ToSeek ToSeeked yesterday). Star trackers, navigation and comm systems will be added in the coming weeks.

ToSeek · #37 (**permalink**) 21-July-2006, 05:05 PM

Sunning Frozen Soil

Quote:

The answer to the question about life on Mars may very well come from analyzing an unsuspecting source - the soil, specifically the icy layer of soil underneath the red planet's surface. By analyzing the properties of Mars frozen layer of soil during NASA s next lander mission, scientists will be able to better understand and theorize about life on Mars.

A synopsis of the project was presented by Douglas R. Cobos on Monday, July 10, 2006, during the 18th World Congress of Soil Science in Philadelphia.

By exposing this frozen soil layer to the sun, researchers are hoping to measure the properties of the liquid water before it turns to a vapor. According to Cobos, the discovery of this liquid water would be a big finding and best case scenario for the Martian research community. This liquid water the pre-cursor for life says Cobos could even point to life in a dormant state on Mars.

ToSeek · #38 (**permalink**) 04-August-2006, 06:42 PM

One Year to Launch!

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Today, the countdown clock reads T - 1 year to launch and counting. Time has rushed by since our selection as the first Scout mission 3 years ago. Overall we are in an excellent position to meet our launch schedule with high probability of success, while living within our budget.

ToSeek · #39 (**permalink**) 15-November-2006, 05:42 PM

Piecing Together Life's Potential

Quote:

In this interview, Carol Stoker describes what the Phoenix Lander can expect to find when it lands in the martian northern plains. She also explains why astrobiologists have such high hopes for finding the signs of life there.

Launch window · #40 (**permalink**) 21-November-2006, 08:30 PM

The Phoenix is perhaps most enticing when you consider the astrobiology perspective

ToSeek · #41 (**permalink**) 06-December-2006, 05:12 PM

Detailed Look at the Next Mars Lander

Quote:

NASA's next mission to the red planet—the Phoenix Mars Lander—is a true wedding of technology with planetary exploration: Something old, something new…something borrowed and something blue.

Named after the resilient mythological bird, Phoenix is based upon a lander that was meant to fly in 2001, but administratively mothballed by NASA. It is also outfitted with instruments that are improved variations of gear carried onboard the ill-fated Mars Polar Lander.

ToSeek · #42 (**permalink**) 19-December-2006, 05:25 PM

EDL animation:

http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/multi..._animation.php

MaDeR · #43 (**permalink**) 19-December-2006, 09:10 PM

My 0,02 cents... why Phoenix is stationary lander? In NASA? To Mars? In 2007?

This contraption should be a great toy to learn landing on Mars for boys and girls from ESA (considering their wet dreams about ExoMars), but why NASA would do that joke? Hello? We have XXI century now...

01101001 · #44 (**permalink**) 19-December-2006, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaDeR

My 0,02 cents... why Phoenix is stationary lander? In NASA? To Mars? In 2007?

Cost.

NASA Future Mission: Phoenix Overview:

Quote:

The Phoenix mission is the first chosen for NASA's Scout program, an initiative for smaller, lower-cost, competed spacecraft. Named for the resilient mythological bird, Phoenix uses a lander that was intended for use by 2001's Mars Surveyor lander prior to its cancellation. It also carries a complex suite of instruments that are improved variations of those that flew on the lost Mars Polar Lander.

University of Arizona: Phoenix Mars Lander Overview:

Quote:

The Phoenix Mars Mission, scheduled for launch in August 2007, is the first in NASA's "Scout Program." Scouts are designed to be highly innovative and relatively low-cost complements to major missions being planned as part of the agency's Mars Exploration Program. Phoenix is specifically designed to measure volatiles (especially water) and complex organic molecules in the arctic plains of Mars, where the Mars Odyssey orbiter has discovered evidence of ice-rich soil very near the surface.

djellison · #45 (**permalink**) 20-December-2006, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaDeR

My 0,02 cents... why Phoenix is stationary lander?

Because it doesn't need wheels to do the science it's designed to do. A grab-bag spot anywhere in the hydrogen-rich soils of the northern latitudes is enough. A rover designed to carry the instrument payload of Phoenix would have to be the size of the 2009 rover, MSL, which will cost more than twice as much.

Doug

Cugel · #46 (**permalink**) 20-December-2006, 08:12 AM

Which brings up the question, why was Mars Polar Lander a stationary lander?
I think partly it's because it is build by the University of Arizona.
Rovers and airbags are typical JPL inventions, not everybody is convinced of their usefulness. For instance, the mobility of a rover comes at a great price, it takes a big piece out of the payload mass. That's why the 2 MER rovers only have that small science package at the tip of a robotic arm. Besides that, Phoenix is not a geology mission, it just looks for water(ice) in the ground. That ice layer should be everywhere in that region of Mars, so there is no need for driving to it. Theoretically, that is.

Cugel · #47 (**permalink**) 20-December-2006, 08:13 AM

Good morning Doug,
Nice to see someone in the same timezone around here!

JonClarke · #48 (**permalink**) 20-December-2006, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaDeR

My 0,02 cents... why Phoenix is stationary lander? In NASA? To Mars? In 2007?

This contraption should be a great toy to learn landing on Mars for boys and girls from ESA (considering their wet dreams about ExoMars), but why NASA would do that joke? Hello? We have XXI century now...

As others have said, you don't need mobility for the mission it is designed to perform. Mobility is technical difficult, costly in terms of payload, and expensive to produce. You only provide it if you have to. There is lots of excellent science to be done using stationary landers.

Your comment about the innovative and exciting ExoMars mission is derogatory, unneccessary and should be retracted.

Jon

Doodler · #49 (**permalink**) 20-December-2006, 01:56 PM

Amazing how fast we get spoiled, isn't it? Give'em a couple rovers, and suffenly those stationary landers look like the Model T.

A little thought for y'all remarking about the lack of mobility.

Spirit and Opportunity were designed to look for traces of water in Martian geography. They had to be mobile, because quite frankly, no one had a clue where those signs of water might be found, if they were even there to be found at all.

With Pheonix, we know what we want, we know where it is, we don't have to go fishing for it, so mobility isn't an advantage to the mission criteria.

Please, folks, a little thought before releasing that knee-jerk, alright?