Phoenix on Mars - Page 9

01101001 · #**241** (**permalink**) 30-June-2008, 12:44 PM

This video breaks nothing new, but is a nice review of what's gone on so far, done for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival that features NASA as one of its three areas of focus. Phoenix team members Ramon dePaula, Bobby Fogel, and Peter Smith, speak for about 15 minutes followed by about 15 minutes of Q&A from the public. (I didn't find a good user interface: no elapsed time clock; no random access. Pause and play only.)

Folklife Festival: Mars Phoenix (video, about a half-hour)

===

The useful links:
NASA Phoenix Mission
University of Arizona Phoenix Mars Mission
University of Arizona Phoenix Mars Mission: Lander Gallery
JPL Phoenix Mission News
NASA Phoenix Twitter Feed
NASA Phoenix Multimedia
CSA Phoenix Mars Mission
Planetary Society: Phoenix Mission
Planetary Society: Phoenix Non-SSI Raw Images
Planetary Society: Phoenix Sol-By-Sol Summary
Planetary Society: Weblog
Emily Lakdawalla Ustream video chat (sporadic; aims for Wednesdays)
Texas A&M University Phoenix SSI Raw Images Directory
Unmanned Spaceflight Forum: Phoenix 2007/8
Google Mars landing site
NASA TV (or NASA TV Yahoo! source or high-resolution)
NASA TV Media Channel

01101001 · #**242** (**permalink**) 01-July-2008, 12:43 AM

Sol 35 Raw Images

One so far.

Edit: and then quickly about a dozen more. I must have hit it just as it was starting.

Among them, there are a few images of the scoop with just a small bit of soil in it, and there are more images of the scoop hovering over the TEGA. I wonder if the delivery happened this time.

Edit: I still wonder. I lean to probably not a delivery, or they would have documented it better, like with the arm camera. And, I think they would have tried to deliver one scoop to both TEGA and MECA, and do the 30-minute-scoop-to-delivery quick handoff so the ice didn't sublime. I suspect more practice to make it perfect.

The Texas A&M University Phoenix SSI Raw Images Directory :: Sol 35 has observation label:

Quote:

RAC SSI Image of TEGA 5 Del pose

Did it deliver? Is it posing as if it did? I guess today's images might tell.

01101001 · #**243** (**permalink**) 01-July-2008, 07:56 PM

NASA Phoenix Mission News: Phoenix Scrapes 'Almost Perfect' Icy Soil for Analysis (2008 July 1)

Quote:

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander enlarged the "Snow White" trench and scraped up little piles of icy soil on Saturday, June 28, the 33rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Scientists say that the scrapings are ideal for the lander's analytical instruments.

The robotic arm on Phoenix used the blade on its scoop to make 50 scrapes in the icy layer buried under subsurface soil. The robotic arm then heaped the scrapings into a few 10- to 20-cubic centimeter piles, or piles each containing between two and four teaspoonfuls. Scraping created a grid about two millimeters deep.

The scientists saw the scrapings in Surface Stereo Imager images on Sunday, June 29, agreed they had "almost perfect samples of the interface of ice and soil," and commanded the robotic arm to pick up some scrapings for instrument analysis.

The scoop will sprinkle the fairly fine-grained material first onto the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA). The instrument has tiny ovens to bake and sniff the soil to assess its volatile ingredients, such as water. It can determine the melting point of ice.

Edit: I think this is the sort of piles they were talking about: scraping piles near Snow White trench, but this is labeled "post-sample" (from Texas Sol 36 SSI raw images).

01101001 · #**244** (**permalink**) 02-July-2008, 12:24 AM

Sol 36 Raw Images

They are rolling in. So far: solar images and distant landscapes.

Moseley · #**245** (**permalink**) 02-July-2008, 12:59 PM

Keep up the great work 01101001.

I watched Capricorn One (again) last night while catching up on the images - quite surreal and funny.

01101001 · #**246** (**permalink**) 02-July-2008, 03:37 PM

I was waiting for the images labeled SSI_detailmini TECP Touch Test at Texas A&M University Phoenix SSI Raw Images Directory :: Sol 36 to come in. Now I know. They stuck a fork in it. They probed the ground with the tines of the TECP.

University of Arizona is not responding at the moment, so I'll mess with Texas.

TECP Touch Test

Perhaps before too long, after they do the actual probing instead of just practice, we'll have some preliminary news about the liquid water content of the surface soil, and its temperature.

01101001 · #**247** (**permalink**) 02-July-2008, 10:02 PM

Possibly scary news about TEGA:

University of Arizona Phoenix Mars Mission: Phoenix To Bake Ice-rich Sample Next Week (July 2):

Quote:

The next sample delivered to NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander’s Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer (TEGA) will be ice-rich.

A team of engineers and scientists assembled to assess TEGA after a short circuit was discovered in the instrument has concluded that another short circuit could occur when the oven is used again.

“Since there is no way to assess the probability of another short circuit occurring, we are taking the most conservative approach and treating the next sample to TEGA as possibly our last,” said Peter Smith, Phoenix’s principal investigator.
[...]
Once the sample is delivered to the chemistry experiment, Smith said the highest priority will be obtaining the ice-rich sample and delivering it to TEGA’s oven number zero.

That would be an oven that probably will have one of its pair of doors pop wide open.

01101001 · #**248** (**permalink**) 03-July-2008, 01:08 AM

Planetary Society Weblog: Phoenix sol 36 update: Scraping in wonderland, next steps for TEGA

Lots of updating, since the MECA Wet results briefing, from sol 31 through 36. Also, another look at the TEGA potential to short circuit. Lots of images.

Near-term plans:

Quote:

The Phoenix team is lying somewhat low this week. With Phoenix' sols aligned almost perfectly with Arizona days, the team has to work through the local night, and at least two members of the JPL newsroom team have taken the week off. And an exhausted operations team is being given a much deserved two-day break centered on the Independence Day holiday.

01101001 · #**249** (**permalink**) 03-July-2008, 02:02 AM

Sol 37 Raw Images

Currently 1 image. More surely to come.

Edit: Many images now, maybe 150. Nothing much exciting: atmosphere, sun, lots of landscape. No instrument or scoop action. Fits with relative inaction described in Planetary Society Weblog, above.

I do like this nearby rock garden:

I wonder what life would be like for the robot arm if Phoenix had landed in the middle of that. Scooping might have been a real chore. But, there'd be lots of rocks to turn over in a hunt for Mars bugs.

marsbug · #**250** (**permalink**) 03-July-2008, 10:44 AM

Lucky it's not, if it pulls the roof off my house I'll have to pull the batteries out!
Sorry couldn't resist.

01101001 · #**251** (**permalink**) 03-July-2008, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01101001

No instrument or scoop action. Fits with relative inaction described in Planetary Society Weblog, above.

According to the labels at Texas A&M University Phoenix SSI Raw Images Directory, it could get very quiet for the US Independence Day, July 4 and weekend:

Quote:

Sol 040: Remote sensing/standdown.
Sol 039: Remote sensing/standdown. Happy Independence Sol!
Sol 038: Deliver (partial scoop) to OM

At least the MECA Optical might generate a little excitment. Otherwise, it looks like preprogrammed activities for the robot while the humans take a well-deserved break. Enjoy your barbecues, or sleep, Team Phoenix.

01101001 · #**252** (**permalink**) 04-July-2008, 01:43 AM

Sol 38 Raw Images

djellison · #**253** (**permalink**) 04-July-2008, 08:36 AM

Sol 39 includes 2-3x as much imaging as the average sol does - so while the people on the ground are enjoying a nice JUly 4th break - Phoenix certainly isn't - and nor are the downlink team who will operate MRO, MODY and PHX at an engineering level to make sure nothing goes wrong.

Doug

01101001 · #**254** (**permalink**) 04-July-2008, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djellison

Sol 39 includes 2-3x as much imaging as the average sol does [...]

The Texas A&M University Phoenix SSI Raw Images Directory: Sol 39 lists a bunch of observations upcoming. Looks like we have some trench or sample names to learn, like Dodolocks_CityOfEmeralds and Wonderland_SilverShoes. 409 planned.

01101001 · #**255** (**permalink**) 04-July-2008, 07:18 PM

Texas A&M University Phoenix SSI Raw Images Directory: Sol 38
does include what looks like a MECA Optical delivery (observation: INTEROP: Sprinkle onto OM):

01101001 · #**256** (**permalink**) 05-July-2008, 02:37 AM

Sol 39 Raw Images

About 80 images so far. About 400 expected.

01101001 · #**257** (**permalink**) 06-July-2008, 02:43 AM

Sol 40 Raw Images

01101001 · #**258** (**permalink**) 07-July-2008, 02:16 AM

Sol 41 Raw Images

Edit: Looks like a MECA Wet delivery, before-and-after shots, about 5 hours apart. The 2nd MECA WCL door looks like it got some soil sprinkled on it. Click to enlarge.

Coming up, from Texas A&M University Phoenix SSI Raw Images Directory:

Quote:

Sol 042: Clean and scrape Wonderland, AFM checkout part 1

So, maybe we'll get some MECA Atomic-Force Microscope action before too long.