Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Phoenix’s First Views With Color

Here are a couple of colorized images of Phoenix’s first views of its landing site. They are a little more exciting than the black and white version, and the human eye can pick out more detail in color. This is an approximate-color image taken shortly after landing by the Phoenix’s Surface Stereo Imager, generated from two color filters, a violet and an infrared filter. It shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars. The flat landscape is strewn with tiny pebbles and shows polygonal cracking, a pattern seen widely in Martian high latitudes and also observed in permafrost terrains on Earth. The polygonal cracking is believed to have resulted from seasonal freezing and thawing of surface ice.

Phoenix touched down on the Red Planet at 7:53 EDT yesterday in an arctic region called Vastitas Borealis, at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude.

Polygonal cracks are visible in this close up image of the Mars arctic tundra. This color version was again generated using one of the first black and white image sent by Phoenix and processed with two color filters. The SSI camera on Phoenix will be calibrated with colors on the spacecraft itself in order to make sure the color images it sends back will show the “real” colors on Mars as close as possible. SSI has a 12-position color filter that ranges from optical to infrared.

Phoenix’s approximate position on Mars is shown here. The red circle on the far right of the blue landing elipse is where the spacecraft is estimated to be. At the time this post is written, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has probably already passed over this area on Mars and will attempt to image the lander on the surface of Mars. We’ll post that if the MRO team is successful in this difficult effort.

News Source: NASA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

First Images from Phoenix

Phoenix sent its first images of itself and Mars’s surface, which indicate that all is well with the spacecraft. The lander is stable, the solar arrays have deployed, and Phoenix appears to be sitting on a smooth, landscape that is just what the scientists were hoping for. “It looks like a good place to start digging!” said Dan McCleese from JPL.


This image of Phoenix’s solar arrays indicates that the arrays have deployed fully. Data indicates the batteries are fully charged as well, meaning the solar arrays are working perfectly.


This image shows the lander’s footpad planted quite nicely, not sunk into the surface at all. This indicates great stability for Phoenix.


This is a second, and not quite complete landscape image that Phoenix sent back to Earth of its surroundings.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Welcome Back to Mars: Phoenix Lands Successfully!

The Phoenix spacecraft successfully made a soft touchdown on the northern polar region of Mars. The events of entry, descent and landing unfolded in textbook fashion, and according to telemetry sent back by the spacecraft, Phoenix sits almost perfectly level on Mars’ surface, tilted only a quarter of a degree, situated in an east to west orientation. “Everything went absolutely flawlessly,” said Doug McCuistion, NASA’s Mars exploration program director. “Things ticked off within seconds of when they should have, and the signal never went away completely even through peak heating. This spacecraft has been a flawless performer since launch. An unbelieveable performance.” NASA now has a record three operating spacecraft on the surface of Mars.

Phoenix will provide the first close-up glimpse of the Mars tundra, and with its robotic arm dig under the planet’s surface to give insight into the water and climate history of the Red Planet.

Phoenix’s fiery descent through the atmosphere and propulsive touchdown was the first non-airbag landing in since the Viking Landers in 1976. The spacecraft entered the Martian atmosphere traveling 21,000 km/hour (13,000 mph), and slowed to under 8 kph (5 mph) using aerobraking, a parachute and retro-rockets to softly touch down on the surface of Mars. The mission control center reported the helium on board the spacecraft has also successfully vented.

It was beautiful to watch the perfection and performance of the spacecraft and the reaction of the people involved with the mission. Project Manager Barry Goldstein was asked if he thought landing operations would go as well as it did. “Not in my dreams,” he said. “I’m in shock. We had all the signals, everything. We could have scripted it. We had rehearsed all the failure cases, and never in rehearsal did it go this well. This was by far the hardest part to get through. We have contingencies and multiple tries for opening the solar rays, but for EDL it has to go and it has to go on time. I’m speechless. But we have the best team in the world.”

Five years of building and testing the Phoenix spacecraft has seemingly paid off. The first telemetry returned from the spacecraft indicates that all systems are nominal. The team will make sure the solar arrays have deployed and by later this evening the first pictures should be returned. First pictures will be of the lander itself, of the solar arrays to make sure they have deployed.

Principal Investigator Peter Smith said the science team is ready. “We’ll start surface operations right away,” he said. “We’ll get that first picture to make sure the spacecraft is healthy. We’re looking forward to great science and maybe even an extended mission (past the expected 90 day mission)! This is a world mission. We are doing this for everybody.”

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Dear Phoenix: All Our Hopes

Dear Phoenix lander,

As I write this you are still tucked safely inside your spacecraft, speeding towards your destination on Mars. The engineers watching over you during this journey tell us you are healthy, doing well, and are so zeroed in on your target that they may not need to adjust your trajectory. However, they’ll provide a gentle nudge to alter your course if they deem it necessary.

It looks like you’ll have good weather for your arrival, with no significant dust storms predicted at the northern polar region of Mars. It’s always nice to have good weather for a landing.

Just to let you know, when you reach the Red Planet, your descent through the atmosphere might be a little scary. In fact, people back on Earth are calling it “7 Minutes of Terror.” But, to be upfront with you, it’s actually closer to 8 minutes that you’ll have to slow from your incoming speed of about 21,000 kph (13,000 mph) to about 8 kph ( 5 mph) just before you touch down on the surface. I know, I know – you’re probably wondering why the Mars Rovers Spirit and Opportunity only had 6 minutes of terror to endure, and you have almost 8. You’re landing at a lower site on Mars surface, and so you’ll have a longer ride down.


But in fact, it might be scarier for all of us back on Earth who will be aching to know of your progress, than it will be for you. Your ablator heat shield will keep you room-temperature cool, even though the outside temperatures may reach 3,000 degrees Celsius.

You’ll also have a little longer ride on your parachute than the MER — 2 minutes versus 1 minute, although you won’t be traveling anywhere near a leisurely speed. And don’t worry about the parachute design. It’s the same type of parachute that was used for the Viking Landers back in the 1970’s and for MER. It’s tried and tested.

You have 12 thrusters to slow you down just before you land. May they serve you well.

But don’t worry about being alone during these 7-plus minutes. People from all around Earth will be watching and waiting to hear how your journey is progressing. More significantly, scientists and engineers from many different countries will be monitoring your journey with large telescopes and antennas from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Deep Space Network, listening for the signals and tracking your progress, to keep an eye on how you’re doing.

However, to be honest with you, all of us back on Earth will only receive your transmissions 15 minutes after the fact of whatever occurs. But so many people have put a tremendous amount of time and effort into ensuring that your systems will perform flawlessly. We have great faith in their efforts and tremendous confidence in your capabilities.

But you definitely won’t be alone because there are other spacecraft at Mars that will be ready to welcome you on your arrival, by scanning for your transmissions. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Odyssey and Mars Express, will all be searching for your signals, and MRO will even try to take a picture of you as you descend with your parachute.

You are undertaking a new adventure of exploration and discovery. We anticipate all that you will help us learn about Mars and its climate history by digging down through the arctic ice.

Please know we are all thinking of you and wishing you every success in your journey and subsequent scientific investigations.

Take care, Phoenix, and please call after you land to let us know if you’ve arrived safely.

All our hopes,
Your friends back on Earth

Real-time video of Phoenix’s descent and landing.

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

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. MRO’s spectrometer, CRISM has detected water-bearing clay minerals in these plains, which were eroded by flows down the channel. Clays are also seen in the sediments deposited on the floor of Jezero Crater, which you can see in the image below.


The sediments deposited form a delta-like mound on the crater floor, which suggests that the crater may have contained a lake at one time. Planetary scientists use these clues found in the form and composition of the Martian surface to provide insights into an ancient era when liquid water may have been more common at the surface.


This image taken on a spring afternoon on Mars shows a young impact crater in the northern part of Isidis Planitia. The crater is fresh enough that some interesting features are visible, where in older craters these features have been eroded.

The ejecta blanket of material thrown out of the crater is distinctly dark and rough, with many small boulders and rugged texture. To the south of the crater there is a wedge-shaped area with little ejected material. This may indicate that the impactor which formed this crater came from the south, since at moderate impact angles ejecta is preferentially thrown in the direction of motion of the impactor. But some erosion has already begun, as seen in the wind-blown ripples on the crater floor.

Of great interest this week is the region on Mars where the Phoenix spacecraft will land on Sunday, May 25. One of the reasons this specific area of Mars was selected for the landing site is based on the overall lack of rocks that could prove hazardous to the lander. Phoenix will analyze the surface dust as well as dig into an ice-rich layer which is predicted to lie within inches of the Martian surface. The polygon-like shapes on the surface here are most likely the result of temperature oscillations which cause the ice to crack. Here’s hoping for a successful landing for Phoenix, with lots of great science returns.

Source: HiRISE

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Spirit Unearths Former Yellowstone on Mars

Spirit’s gimpy right front wheel has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The Mars Exploration Rover traversing around the Gusev Crater region on Mars has been forced to drive in reverse, dragging the jammed wheel behind. But that wheel gouged a trench a few inches deep through the Martian soil, revealing deposits of nearly pure silica that scientists believe formed when volcanic steam or hot water (or maybe both) percolated through the ground. Such deposits are found around hydrothermal vents like those in Yellowstone National Park, and when active, usually teem with life.

The silica, discovered in 2007 and announced briefly then by NASA, has now been further examined by the rover’s Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer and the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer. A new paper in the journal Science describes the findings, lead by Steven Squyres, principal investigator for the rover science payload.

The silica finding turns a spotlight on an important site that may contain preserved traces of ancient Martian life. But since the rovers don’t carry instruments that can detect microscopic life, for now the site can only be classified as a once habitable environment where liquid water and the energy needed for life were present. This area would be a prime location for a future mission capable of searching for ancient biological evidence.

Although the trench was created and briefly studied last year, further examination of the site and the surrounding area had to wait while Spirit entered a hibernation mode for a few months in an attempt to survive its second Martian winter. The rover spent those months on the edge of a football-field-size feature called Home Plate.

Now that Spirit has been moving around again, the rover has found the silica in a wide area.
“It’s not just the soil in a trench in one place,” said Steve Ruff, a co-author of the paper. “It’s a broader story of outcrops that extend 50 meters [about 150 feet] away from Home Plate. It’s not a small scale, modest phenomenon.”

In some areas the soil is nearly 90% silica.

Making such pure silica requires a lot of water, says Ruff. “On Earth, the only way to have this kind of silica enrichment is by hot water reacting with rocks.” In other words, a Yellowstone-like environment that would include a combination of geothermal heat and water produced by a hydrothermal system like the one which powers the hot springs, geysers, mudpots, and fumaroles (steam vents) of Yellowstone National Park.

Astrobiologist Jack Farmer explains that hydrothermal systems generally precipitate silica and other minerals as heated groundwater rises, cools, and gives off dissolved gases. “If there were organisms living there,” he says, “our terrestrial experience shows that microbes can easily be entrapped and preserved in the deposits.” Silica, he notes, is an excellent medium for capturing and preserving traces of microbial life.

NASA landed the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, on opposite sides of the planet in January 2004 to look for rocks showing the presence of water. As of now, the rovers are more than four Earth years into a mission designed to last just three months. Despite dust collecting on their solar panels and mechanical wear-and-tear, both are continuing to explore.

Original News Source: ASU

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Hubble Spies Third Red Spot on Jupiter

Jupiter appears to be breaking out with spots, as a third red storm has joined the Great Red Spot and Red Spot Jr. (or Oval BA) in the planet’s turbulent atmosphere. This third spot used to be a white storm, and its change to a red color might mean the storm is becoming more powerful. Astronomers believe these new images captured by both the Hubble and the Keck telescope may show that Jupiter is undergoing a major climate change, as was predicted four years ago.

“One of the most notable changes we observe in both the Hubble and Keck images is the change from a rather bland, quiescent band surrounding the Great Red Spot just over a year ago to one that is incredibly turbulent at both sides of the spot,” said Imke de Pater from the University of California Berkley. “During all previous HST observations and spacecraft encounters, starting with Voyager in 1979, such turbulence was seen only on the west or left side of the spot.”

The Great Red Spot has been around as long as 200 to 350 years, based on early telescopic observations. If the new red spot and the Great Red Spot continue on their courses, they will encounter each other in August. Astronomers will keep a close watch on whether the small oval will either be absorbed or repelled from the Great Red Spot. Red Spot Jr. which lies between the two other spots, and is at a lower latitude, will pass the Great Red Spot in June.

The Great Red Spot is a persistent, high-pressure storm whose cloud head sticks some 8 kilometers (5 miles) above the surrounding cloud deck. The new spot is much smaller than the other two and lies to the west of the Great Red Spot in the same latitude band of clouds.

The visible-light images were taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on May 9 and 10, and near-infrared adaptive optics images were taken by the W.M. Keck telescope on May 11.

These images may support the idea that Jupiter is in the midst of global climate change, as first proposed in 2004 by Phil Marcus, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. The planet’s temperatures may be changing by 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The giant planet is getting warmer near the equator and cooler near the South Pole. He predicted that large changes would start in the southern hemisphere around 2006, causing the jet streams to become unstable and spawn new vortices.

“The appearance of the planet’s cloud system from just north of the equator down to 34 degrees south latitude keeps surprising us with changes and, in particular, with new cloud features tha haven’t been previously observed,” said Marcus. “Whether or not Jupiter’s climate has changed due to a predicted warming, the cloud activity over the last two and a half years shows dramatically that something unusual has happened.”

Original News Source: Hubble Press Release

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Exoplanet Count Rises With New Discoveries

With several space- and ground-based telescopes, as well as dedicated space missions searching for exoplanets, or planets orbiting other stars, the count of new discoveries keeps rising. The current total now stands at 287 planets. The newest spacecraft dedicated to this search, the COROT Mission (Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits), announced the finding of two new exoplanets as well as an unknown celestial object. This discovery may be a “missing link” between stars and planets astronomers have been searching for.

The two new planets are gas giants of the hot Jupiter type, which orbit very close to their parent star and tend to have extensive atmospheres because heat from the nearby star gives them energy to expand. Most of the exoplanets found so far are the gas giant variety because of the limits of current technology.

In addition, an oddity dubbed “COROT-exo-3b” has raised particular interest among astronomers. It appears to be something between a brown dwarf, a sub-stellar object without nuclear fusion at its core but with some stellar characteristics, and a planet. Its radius is too small for it to be a super-planet.

If it is a star, it would be among the smallest ever detected. Follow-up observations from the ground have determined it to be at 20 Jupiter massses. This makes it twice as dense as the metal Platinum.

COROT has also detected extremely faint signals that, if confirmed, could indicate the existence of another exoplanet, as small as 1.7 times Earth’s radius.

This is an encouraging sign in the delicate and difficult search for small, rocky exoplanets that COROT has been designed for.

COROT launched in December 2006, with operations beginning in February of 2007. So far the mission has found four exoplanets. The mission started observations of its sixth star field at the beginning of May this year. During this observation phase, which will last 5 months, the spacecraft will simultaneously observe 12,000 stars.

More about COROT.

Original News Source: ESA

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Avoiding the Technicolor Yawn In Space

Astronauts don’t talk much about it, but about half of those who fly in space experience Space Adaptation Syndrome (SAS), or space sickness, which includes nausea, vertigo, visual illusions and headaches. Even though SAS isn’t life threatening, the onset of these symptoms at a crucial point in the mission could have potentially detrimental affects. The last thing any space flight needs is a violently ill commander or pilot during important maneuvers like docking to the space station, or a spacewalker doing the Technicolor Yawn in his helmet. Researchers have determined that SAS is not caused so much by the weightlessness experienced in space, but more by the body adapting to a different gravitational force. A Dutch PhD student studying SAS believes she may have developed a ground-based method for identifying people who are subject to space sickness, following her research in which she whirled test subjects around in a centrifuge.

Until now, no one could determine which astronauts would experience SAS. It can strike seasoned fighter-pilots-turned-astronauts who would claim to be immune from motion sickness, and additionally frequent flyer astronauts can experience SAS on one mission, but not another, while some rookie astronauts are symptom-free.

But Suzanne Nooij says her research shows that an astronaut who will suffer space sickness in microgravity conditions will also suffer it after being vigorously centrifuged at 3G for an hour or so. Spinning at that force is somewhat easily endured for that amount of time, but Nooij says, if you’re susceptible to SAS, once you get out of the centrifuge you’ll puke.

Nooij focused her research on the organ of balance, the area in the inner ear made of semi-circular canals, which are sensitive to rotation, and “otoliths,” saccules inside the ear which are sensitive to linear acceleration. Previous research suggests that a difference between the functioning of the left and right otolith contributes to susceptibility to sickness among astronauts. If this is the case, this should also apply after lengthy rotation.

Nooij tested this otolith asymmetry hypothesis. The otolith and semi-circular canals functions on both sides were measured of fifteen test subjects known to be susceptible to space sickness. Those who suffered from space sickness following rotation proved to have high otolith asymmetry and more sensitive otolith and canal systems. These people could not be classified as sensitive or non-sensitive on the basis of this asymmetry alone, but could on the basis of a combination of various otolith and canal features. This demonstrates that the entire organ of balance is involved in space sickness and that it probably entails complex interactions between the various parts of the organ of balance.

While researchers have yet to find a cure for this, previous knowledge of a space flyer’s susceptibility to SAS would allow for preventative measures such as taking motion sickness medicine, limiting food intake, and avoiding quick head movements.

While Nooij is not an astronaut, her PhD supervisor at TU Delft, is Wubbo Ockels, the first Dutchman in space in 1986, who suffered from SAS.

Original News Sources: Physorg, The Register

Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

More Satellite Images of China’s Earthquake

Beichuan Region of China, before and after Earthquake. Image credit: Formosat 2

More satellite images have been released portraying the devastation caused by the May 12, 2008 earthquake that struck China’s Sichaun Basin. This pair of images, captured by Taiwan’s Formosat-2, illustrates the challenges faced by rescuers bringing equipment and supplies to survivors of the massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake. The top “before” image from 2006 shows the tree-covered mountain terrain of China’s Beichuan County. A river curves along the base of the mountain, and a road follows the banks of the river.

In the lower image, taken on May 14, 2008, the landscape is almost unrecognizable. A landslide engulfed the entire mountainside, turning its green slopes brown. Both the road and the river are entirely gone, buried under the rubble, which rises in a mound up the opposite slope. Landslides, flooding and buckled roads have made travel within quake-affected regions difficult.


Landslides have created earthen dams, and new lakes were formed overnight. This pair of high-resolution images from Taiwan’s Formosat-2 satellite show a “before” and “after” comparison from May 14, 2006 (top),and May 14, 2008 (bottom.) Several landslides, a collapsed bridge, and a bridge submerged by a newly formed lake are visible in the “after” the earthquake image.


Finally, this bottom series of images show how devastation continues to occur as the earthquake and its aftershocks has sent earth and rock tumbling down mountains into rivers, creating natural dams behind which lakes quickly built up. The first, a “before” image taken in 2006, show normal springtime conditions.

On May 15, 2008, three days after the initial earthquake, both the bridge and the roads it connected had disappeared under murky water. Some sections of the villages remained above the waterline, as did portions of the roads leading to the villages. The tops of trees, perhaps on slightly higher ground, formed tiny islands near the shores of the growing lake.

Formosat-2 took the final image on May 19, 2008. By this time, water levels in the earthquake lake had risen enough to immerse both villages and the entire road network. Tan debris floats on the surface of the water, concentrated over the locations of the villages.

Earthquake-created dams present a dual danger. Apart from the upstream floods that occur as a lake builds behind the natural dam, the piles of rubble that form the dam may be unstable. Another quake or simply the pressure of water behind it could burst the dam, sending a wall of water downstream. Downstream floods may also occur when water begins to cascade over the top of the dam. Thousands of people were evacuated from Beichuan on May 17 when one such lake threatened to burst, said China Daily.

Original News Source: NASA’s Earth Observatory