NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has developed yet another technical glitch.
If the mission fails, it will be America's ninth failed Mars mission...
Nasa's Phoenix Mars Lander fails to scoop up sample of Martian soil
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
05/06/2008
Telegraph
Nasa's Phoenix lander failed to scoop up its first sample of Martian soil for analysis on Wednesday when the second communications glitch to hit the mission stopped instructions from reaching the craft.
This NASA image shows the Martian soil that covers the surface of Mars
After extensive testing of the lander's robotic arm, Phoenix had been due to deliver the first taste of Martian permafrost to its onboard laboratory, marking the start of its quest to probe the frozen terrain for the building blocks of life.
But Nasa's Mars Odyssey orbiter, one of two spacecraft relaying commands to the lander, inexplicably went into a "safe mode", mission controllers said, leaving Phoenix to complete a sequence of pre-programmed operations stored before it left Earth.
The glitch is the second to interrupt communications between mission operators and Phoenix and delay the lander's schedule.
Two days after the craft touched down on the Red Planet's northern arctic plains more than a week ago, the other satellite responsible for relaying instructions to Phoenix, the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter, turned off its radio.
The lander missed a day's commands and mission managers switched over to Odyssey to re-send them.
While the latest fault on Odyssey was investigated, Phoenix operators turned back to the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter, which appears to be working well after last week's hitch, to communicate with the lander.
They stressed the three legged-probe, which will remain stationary during its 90-day mission, was unaffected by the problems and working well.
The first soil samples to be delivered to the lander's deck for testing are now expected to be collected on Thursday once new commands have been sent up.
Once on board, the samples will be baked in a tiny oven and the vapours given off studied for traces of organic compounds.
The lander is not equipped to detect life itself. Instead, scientists hope analysis of the soil and ice believed to lie beneath the surface will show whether liquid water once existed on Mars and if the ingredients needed to sustain rudimentary life are present.
Earlier in the week Phoenix used its 8 ft robotic arm to successfully complete two rounds of digging and then dumping scoops of the clumpy soil.
The tests excited scientists by revealing stripes of white material in the soil that are believed to be either surface ice or salt deposits.
Mission managers remain upbeat and keen to begin testing, they said on Wednesday.
"It's absolutely an incredibly science-rich location," said Peter Smith, chief scientific investigator for the 420 million dollars mission.
He said the lander's scientific instruments had all been checked out thoroughly and were "ready to receive samples."
FAILED MARS MISSIONS
Marsnik program (Soviet Union), launch failure, 1960
Sputnik 22 (Soviet Union), broke up entering Earth orbit, 1962
Sputnik 23 (Soviet Union), broke up entering Earth's atmosphere, 1963
Mariner 3 (United States), failed to even reach Mars, 1964
Mars 1969A (Soviet Union), exploded seconds after take-off, 1969
Mars 1969B (Soviet Union), crashed just after take-off, 1969
Mariner 8 (United States), fell into the Atlantic, 1971
Cosmos 419 (Soviet Union), re-entered Earth's atmosphere 2 days after launch, 1971
Mars 96 (Russia), crashed ito Pacific, 1996
Mars 1 (Soviet Union), communication with Earth seized on way to Mars, 1963
Zond 2 (Soviet Union), communications lost on way to Mars, 1965
Mars 6 (Soviet Union), flaw in computer chip led to degradation of data, making it unreadable, 1973
Mars 7 (Soviet Union), landing probe separated prematurely, 1973
Phobos 1 (Soviet Union), suffered critical failure during mission, 1989
Mars Observer (United States), lost three days before it was due to land on Mars, 1992
Nozomi (Japan), electrical failure just before it was due to orbit Mars, 1998
Mars Climate Orbiter (United States), destroyed by atmospheric stresses, 1998
Mars Polar Lander (United States) Communication with the lander was lost prior to atmospheric entry, 1998
Deep Space 2 (United States), communication not established after landing, 1999
Beagle 2 (Britain), contact lost before entry into Martian atmosphere, 2003
Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (United States), cancelled after recent previous NASA Mars probe failures
Netlander (Europe), cancelled as it was too expensive
Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (United States), cancelled to support other short-term goals
telegraph.co.uk
If the mission fails, it will be America's ninth failed Mars mission...
Nasa's Phoenix Mars Lander fails to scoop up sample of Martian soil
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
05/06/2008
Telegraph
Nasa's Phoenix lander failed to scoop up its first sample of Martian soil for analysis on Wednesday when the second communications glitch to hit the mission stopped instructions from reaching the craft.
This NASA image shows the Martian soil that covers the surface of Mars
After extensive testing of the lander's robotic arm, Phoenix had been due to deliver the first taste of Martian permafrost to its onboard laboratory, marking the start of its quest to probe the frozen terrain for the building blocks of life.
But Nasa's Mars Odyssey orbiter, one of two spacecraft relaying commands to the lander, inexplicably went into a "safe mode", mission controllers said, leaving Phoenix to complete a sequence of pre-programmed operations stored before it left Earth.
The glitch is the second to interrupt communications between mission operators and Phoenix and delay the lander's schedule.
Two days after the craft touched down on the Red Planet's northern arctic plains more than a week ago, the other satellite responsible for relaying instructions to Phoenix, the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter, turned off its radio.
The lander missed a day's commands and mission managers switched over to Odyssey to re-send them.
While the latest fault on Odyssey was investigated, Phoenix operators turned back to the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter, which appears to be working well after last week's hitch, to communicate with the lander.
They stressed the three legged-probe, which will remain stationary during its 90-day mission, was unaffected by the problems and working well.
The first soil samples to be delivered to the lander's deck for testing are now expected to be collected on Thursday once new commands have been sent up.
Once on board, the samples will be baked in a tiny oven and the vapours given off studied for traces of organic compounds.
The lander is not equipped to detect life itself. Instead, scientists hope analysis of the soil and ice believed to lie beneath the surface will show whether liquid water once existed on Mars and if the ingredients needed to sustain rudimentary life are present.
Earlier in the week Phoenix used its 8 ft robotic arm to successfully complete two rounds of digging and then dumping scoops of the clumpy soil.
The tests excited scientists by revealing stripes of white material in the soil that are believed to be either surface ice or salt deposits.
Mission managers remain upbeat and keen to begin testing, they said on Wednesday.
"It's absolutely an incredibly science-rich location," said Peter Smith, chief scientific investigator for the 420 million dollars mission.
He said the lander's scientific instruments had all been checked out thoroughly and were "ready to receive samples."
FAILED MARS MISSIONS
Marsnik program (Soviet Union), launch failure, 1960
Sputnik 22 (Soviet Union), broke up entering Earth orbit, 1962
Sputnik 23 (Soviet Union), broke up entering Earth's atmosphere, 1963
Mariner 3 (United States), failed to even reach Mars, 1964
Mars 1969A (Soviet Union), exploded seconds after take-off, 1969
Mars 1969B (Soviet Union), crashed just after take-off, 1969
Mariner 8 (United States), fell into the Atlantic, 1971
Cosmos 419 (Soviet Union), re-entered Earth's atmosphere 2 days after launch, 1971
Mars 96 (Russia), crashed ito Pacific, 1996
Mars 1 (Soviet Union), communication with Earth seized on way to Mars, 1963
Zond 2 (Soviet Union), communications lost on way to Mars, 1965
Mars 6 (Soviet Union), flaw in computer chip led to degradation of data, making it unreadable, 1973
Mars 7 (Soviet Union), landing probe separated prematurely, 1973
Phobos 1 (Soviet Union), suffered critical failure during mission, 1989
Mars Observer (United States), lost three days before it was due to land on Mars, 1992
Nozomi (Japan), electrical failure just before it was due to orbit Mars, 1998
Mars Climate Orbiter (United States), destroyed by atmospheric stresses, 1998
Mars Polar Lander (United States) Communication with the lander was lost prior to atmospheric entry, 1998
Deep Space 2 (United States), communication not established after landing, 1999
Beagle 2 (Britain), contact lost before entry into Martian atmosphere, 2003
Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (United States), cancelled after recent previous NASA Mars probe failures
Netlander (Europe), cancelled as it was too expensive
Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (United States), cancelled to support other short-term goals
telegraph.co.uk