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October 6, 2008 3:38:58 PM CDT

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Stories related to: Phoenix Mars Lander

Stories

19 Stories

  • September 2008

    • It's Snowing on Mars

      Washington Post  |  Sep 30, 08 4:27 AM CDT

      It's Snowing on Mars

      (Newser) - Snow has been falling nightly in the Mars atmosphere for about a month now, giving scientists more reason to believe that life may have once existed in the red planet's polar regions. Lasers onboard the Phoenix lander have tracked icy snow falling for a mile from clouds drifting 2.5 miles above the planet’s surface, but they can’t tell whether the snow is reaching the ground, the Washington Post reports. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • science  • space  • Mars  • water  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • snow

  • August 2008

    • Mission Accomplished on Mars

      Wired  |  Aug 29, 08 5:32 PM CDT

      Mission Accomplished on Mars

      (Newser) - Time's almost up for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander: With its 90-day mission complete, the $480 million project will continue testing soil samples until the punishing winter puts it out of commission. Wired recaps Phoenix triumphs with an interactive timeline, from its flawless landing at Mars' north pole to its groundbreaking analysis of Martian ice and water.     More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • robot  • Wired

    • Mars Toxin Dims Hopes for Red Planet Life

      Space.com  |  Aug 5, 08 8:55 AM CDT

      Mars Toxin Dims Hopes for Red Planet Life

      (Newser) - The Phoenix lander has found a toxin in Mars soil that considerably decreases the odds of finding Martian life, Science.com reports. The chemical, perchlorate, is a harsh oxidizing agent often used in solid rocket fuel, so researchers are double checking to ensure it wasn’t carried from Earth. The results are especially surprising because Sunday’s tests revealed no sign of perchlorate. More »

      Tags

      Mars  • extraterrestrial life  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • red planet

    • NASA Briefs White House on Possible Martian Life

      Aviation Week  |  Aug 2, 08 3:23 PM CDT

      NASA Briefs White House on Possible Martian Life

      (Newser) - NASA has briefed the White House on its plan to announce a new finding on the "potential for life" on Mars, Aviation Week reports. NASA has no evidence that the red planet has harbored life, but new Phoenix lander discoveries suggest it is possible—a finding that Phoenix officials call far more “provocative” than the mere presence of water. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • extraterrestrial life  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • TEGA

  • July 2008

    • Sticky Soil Foils Mars Work

      Space.com  |  Jul 28, 08 8:19 AM CDT

      Sticky Soil Foils Mars Work

      (Newser) - NASA is revising its soil-harvesting method because the Phoenix Mars lander is having trouble with its icy finds, Space.com reports. The lander’s attempts to analyze the soil have been troubled because the soil is sticking to its scoop, stubbornly refusing to fall into the tiny oven designed to melt and study it. Next time, the scoop will dig less and vibrate more. NASA is studying the soil to see whether it could have ever supported life. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • ice

  • June 2008

    • 'You Might Be Able to Grow Asparagus' on Mars

      Reuters  |  Jun 26, 08 4:47 PM CDT

      'You Might Be Able to Grow Asparagus' on Mars

      (Newser) - Samples of Martian soil analyzed by instruments onboard the Phoenix lander have earth-bound scientists “flabbergasted.” Why? Readings indicate that the extraterrestrial loam could, perhaps has, and possibly will, support life, Reuters reports. Along with ice the lander discovered earlier, “We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life,” a scientist said. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • extraterrestrial life  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • ice  • soil sample

    • Scientists Hail Ice Find on Mars

      Wired  |  Jun 20, 08 4:49 AM CDT

      Scientists Hail Ice Find on Mars

      (Newser) - White material on Mars that was puzzling NASA scientists has turned out to be ice, Wired reports. "Are you ready to celebrate? We have ICE! Best day ever!" gushed a team scientist. The discovery of evidence of water—essential for terrestrial life—is exactly what scientists were hoping to find on Mars. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • scientific discoveries

    • Computer Woes Slow Mars Craft

      Associated Press  |  Jun 19, 08 3:16 PM CDT

      Computer Woes Slow Mars Craft

      (Newser) - The Phoenix Mars Lander stopped digging yesterday to give its memory a rest after a computer glitch caused the loss of photographs and scientific data, the AP reports. Scientists were alerted to the problem after the lander transmitted a single piece of information 45,000 times. "It's unfortunate to lose any bit of science," one scientist said. "But it's not really critical stuff that you kick yourself over." More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • robotic arm  • computer glitches  • JPL

    • Mars Lander Finds Ice... or Salt

      Associated Press  |  Jun 17, 08 1:20 PM CDT

      Mars Lander Finds Ice... or Salt

      (Newser) - The Phoenix Mars lander has found… well, something. While digging a pair of trenches on the Red Planet’s North Pole, the little robot sent back images of soil streaked with something white. Now scientists are wondering whether it’s the ice they’d hoped for, a salt deposit, or something else. If it’s ice, scientists expect it to transform from liquid to gas when the sun touches it. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • ice  • salt

    • Shake 'N Bake: Unclogged Phoenix Ovens Ready

      Los Angeles Times  |  Jun 12, 08 7:26 AM CDT

      Shake 'N Bake: Unclogged Phoenix Ovens Ready

      (Newser) - Scientists were cheering yesterday after a tricky operation succeeded in shaking Martian dirt into the Phoenix lander's oven, the Los Angeles Times . The spacecraft will now spend the next few weeks heating up soil samples and analyzing gases. Scientists hope the tests and photos being sent back today will help them understand why the planet's strange, clumpy soil is so different from what they expected. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • Phoenix  • soil sample

    • Mars Through a Microscope

      Reuters  |  Jun 6, 08 7:34 AM CDT

      Mars Through a Microscope

      (Newser) - The Phoenix Mars Lander has taken the first high-resolution images of another planet's dirt and sand in its continued quest for signs of life in the planet's polar region. The microscopic particles were kicked up when the lander touched down and collected  on a slide, Reuters reports. Scientists note that a whitish material in one image probably is not ice but some kind of mineral. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • ice  • salt  • robotic arm  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory

    • Stowaway Molecules Could Taint Mars Results

      LiveScience  |  Jun 5, 08 4:10 PM CDT

      Stowaway Molecules Could Taint Mars Results

      (Newser) - Missions searching for signs of life on Mars could be fooled by organic molecules that hitched a ride from Earth, a new study suggests. University of Florida researchers using simulated Martian conditions found that ATP, an energy-storing molecule fundamental to terrestrial life, could survive the trip and hang around for months or years on NASA equipment, LiveScience reports. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • space exploration  • extraterrestrial life  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • ATP  • Mars rover

    • Phoenix Samples Martian Dirt

      Arizona Republic (Phoenix)  |  Jun 2, 08 5:41 AM CDT

      Phoenix Samples Martian Dirt

      (Newser) - The Phoenix Mars Lander grabbed a small sample of the fine soil of the planet's polar region yesterday. It was only a test "dig and dump"—using the spacecraft's 8-foot-long robotic arm—but paves the way for retrieving and analyzing samples of Martian soil later this week, reports the Arizona Republic . More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • life  • robotic arm  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory  • University of Arizona  • TEGA

  • May 2008

    • On Mars, 'Something That Looks Like Ice'

      Space.com  |  May 31, 08 7:53 PM CDT

      On Mars, 'Something That Looks Like Ice'

      (Newser) - The Phoenix probe sent home photos today of what looks like ice just under Mars' rocky surface, Space.com reports. "The thrusters have excavated two to six inches and, sure enough, we see something that looks like ice,” one mission scientist said. NASA picked the landing spot, in the planet's northern arctic, because it likely hid ice under a thin layer of soil. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • Mars  • extraterrestrial life  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • ice  • robotic arm

    • NASA Deploys Mars Probe's Robotic Arm

      Associated Press  |  May 29, 08 1:00 PM CDT

      NASA Deploys Mars Probe's Robotic Arm

      (Newser) - NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander extended its robotic arm for the first time late last night, the AP reports, a day late because of a temporary radio blackout. The arm, which will unfurl over a 2-day period, will eventually be used to take samples of ice below the surface in Mars’ arctic regions to search for evidence of life. More »

      Tags

      NASA  • space  • Mars  • Arctic  • space exploration  • Phoenix Mars Lander  • soil sample