Mars mission

[BARRY]

the NASA mars probe, will be landing at approximately 0100AM BST,the Phoenix is on it's final approach it can be viewed on nasa tv

[grab my graupel]

the NASA mars probe, will be landing at approximately 0100AM BST,the Phoenix is on it's final approach it can be viewed on nasa tv

Thanks for telling us Barry...I shall be keeping an eye on that

Brian

[James M]

Oh I was just about to post about this, the live feed has just been switched on.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html

[BARRY]

this is the sequence of events

[BARRY]

Phoenix separation is confirmed

[BARRY]

the Phoenix has landed safely and is in good shape

[Bottesford]

Some great pictures here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7411113.stm

and here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html

Hope they find that water they're looking for!

[BARRY]

the potential for science must be huge,the fact that if and i say if their is water well who knows what they will find,some interesting times ahead.

[BARRY]

More great images from mars shows the parachutes on craft fully open and was taken from one of the mars orbiters

[BARRY]

according to nasa the first soil sample is about to be loaded in the TEGA oven,the results could take between 1 to 7 days,we await with interest.

In the recent photo of the scoop showing the sample,interest is being shown in the lump of white substance in the right hand side of the scoop,speculation of it's content is spilt to weather it is ice or salt minerals,we should no next week

[BARRY]

seems there was a problem with the soil sample,it would seem that martian soil is a (bit as they put it) cloddishness clumpier,the particles are to big to pass between the open doors of the

TEGA oven

[BARRY]

Day 15, and NASA control is attempting to use a device on the scoop will act like a rasp, and sprinkle finer dust into one of the 8 TEGA ovens on board and also into the microscope as you can see by the latest image

[Rustynailer]

Day 15, and NASA control is attempting to use a device on the scoop will act like a rasp, and sprinkle finer dust into one of the 8 TEGA ovens on board and also into the microscope as you can see by the latest image

I must admit it looks a bit dicey sprinkling dust and grit near all that expensive hardware Barry.

Another thing that strikes me, is that the dust scatter appears to indicate, the wind is blowing.

Russ

[davehsug]

Maybe way off the mark, but wouldn't "clumpiness" in the soil indicate that something is holding it together? If you dug into soil in the UK there would be clumps in it, if you dug in the Sahara there would not. The difference ....water?

Dave

[BARRY]

Maybe way off the mark, but wouldn't "clumpiness" in the soil indicate that something is holding it together? If you dug into soil in the UK there would be clumps in it, if you dug in the Sahara there would not. The difference ....water?

Dave

you are right there Dave,NASA have just released a statement to that affect,saying that the no 4 oven is now full after days of vibrating the soil on the oven vents,so we now wait the out come with interest

I must admit it looks a bit dicey sprinkling dust and grit near all that expensive hardware Barry.

Another thing that strikes me, is that the dust scatter appears to indicate, the wind is blowing.

Russ

thats what it does it vibrates the particles down to the hole

[❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️]

http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/exploration...ix_weather1.asp

Looking a bit chilly on Mars.

[BARRY]

the latest pictures from mars, show the dodo Goldilocks trench with a white substance as in all the other trench's showing trough,this could be ice but only further analyst will tell

[BARRY]

NASA scientists are now convinced that water ice exists below the surface of mars ,after the white marks in the trench's seem to evaporate ,it was thought that it could be salt but salt Du's not evaporate,now that a number of trench's have been dug it is becoming clear that a hard surface of white material is just below the surface.

The robotic arm stalled when it tried to dig a deep cut which again showed a hard white substance which could be ice watch this space

[Nick L]

Wow, very interesting read!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7477310.stm

Could Mars have harboured life in the past?

[BARRY]

this is good, the clouds you see are ice like cirrus pictured over a 10 minute time lapsed video taken by the martian lander Phoenix,click the picture to see the anamation

[A.J]

this is good, the clouds you see are ice like cirrus pictured over a 10 minute time lapsed video taken by the martian lander Phoenix,click the picture to see the anamation

Thanks for posting that remarkable footage....Its incredible to think (and easy to forget) that we're seeing weather from another planet. It could almost be someone out in their back garden taken video footage of the sky

Here's another martian cloudscape....(images courtesy of NASA)

[BARRY]

yea it sort of makes you realise that if thats on mars there has to be other similar planets out there