Studies of the surface and atmosphere of Mars from NASA's Phoenix Lander
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Earth Sciences
Abstract
This work will be part of NASA's Phoenix Lander Mission, which will send a spacecraft to lands Mars in May 2008 and take a close-up look of the Martian northern polar region. Large amounts ice lie just below the surface there. A robotic arm will dig into the ground, looking for clues about where the ice came from and whether microbes might have lived in Mars' early history. Our contribution to the mission will help understand Mars in three ways. Firstly, we will ensure that microscopes take the best possible pictures of the soil and ice in the Martian arctic. We will examine those pictures to determine whether the soil was once deposited from sediments in a lake or sea, or carried there by the wind, or came directly from the erosion and break down of volcanic lava. Secondly, when the Phoenix spacecraft falls to the surface of Mars from space it gets slowed down by friction with the air and decelerates. The amount that the lander decelerates depends on the air pressure and temperature. We will use the measured deceleration of the Phoenix lander to calculate how the air pressure and temperature changes with height. This can tell us information about the climate, for example, whether there were clouds present during landing or whether the air was dry with a lot of dust. Thirdly, the Phoenix lander has an experiment where soil is scooped up by the robotic arm and mixed with water. Salts in the soil will dissolve in the water and probes in the solution will measure the type of salts, for example whether sodium chloride is present, the salt people use for food. We hope to find out whether the salts on Mars were left behind when a big sea dried up or whether they come from the chemical reaction of volcanic gases with the soil. The microscopy station on Phoenix, that forms a large chunk of our research, consists of a conventional optical microscope and a very-high-resolution microscope called an atomic-force microscope, or AFM. This microscopy station was originally built by Dr Tom Pike while working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Although the microscopy station was completed, the lander that would have carried the microscopy station to the equator of Mars in 2001 was cancelled. However, it will now fly to the Martian arctic in 2007. The different conditions of the Martian artic mean the microscopy station will have to be operated in different ways to its original design. This work will put a copy of the microscopy station into a simulation chamber. Various ice and soil samples will be dropped from a copy of the robot-arm scoop into the station, and microscope images taken with the optical microscope and AFM. At first there will need to be some human intervention to ensure that good images are taken, but as experience with the station is built up more and more of the operations will be performed automatically through computer control. Eventually the microscopy station will be able to take good images by itself, as it will have to on Mars. These methods for automatic operation, or algorithms, will be built into the computer code used on the Phoenix mission to control the microscopy station. The samples will be carried to the microscopes on specially selected holders. Using techniques similar to those used to make silicon chips, it will be possible to cut some silicon so as to best make holders for the small ice and soil particles for microscope imaging. Our research is a unique opportunity for a UK contribution to an important international Mars exploration programme at a modest cost. This research will therefore help build up the UK's limited experience of landing on Mars and bring the excitement of Mars exploration to the British public.
People |
ORCID iD |
William Pike (Principal Investigator) | |
David Catling (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Carpenter J
(2010)
Life Sciences Investigations for ESA's First Lunar Lander
in Earth, Moon, and Planets
Claus D
(2013)
Dual wavelength optical metrology using ptychography
in Journal of Optics
Goetz W
(2012)
Search for ultraviolet luminescence of soil particles at the Phoenix landing site, Mars
in Planetary and Space Science
Goetz W
(2010)
Microscopy analysis of soils at the Phoenix landing site, Mars: Classification of soil particles and description of their optical and magnetic properties
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Hecht M
(2008)
Microscopy capabilities of the Microscopy, Electrochemistry, and Conductivity Analyzer
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Leer K
(2008)
Magnetic properties experiments and the Surface Stereo Imager calibration target onboard the Mars Phoenix 2007 Lander: Design, calibration, and science goals
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Mellon M
(2009)
Ground ice at the Phoenix Landing Site: Stability state and origin
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Pike W
(2011)
Quantification of the dry history of the Martian soil inferred from in situ microscopy PSD OF MARTIAN SOIL
in Geophysical Research Letters
Smith P
(2008)
Introduction to special section on the Phoenix Mission: Landing Site Characterization Experiments, Mission Overviews, and Expected Science
in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
Smith PH
(2009)
H2O at the Phoenix landing site.
in Science (New York, N.Y.)
Description | Development of a set of micromachined substrates to hold the dust and soil of Mars from microscopic examination |
Exploitation Route | A way to stabilise particles for AFM examination |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Agriculture Food and Drink Chemicals Electronics Environment Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
URL | http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080814.html |
Description | To better understand the surface of other planets |
First Year Of Impact | 2009 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Environment |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
Description | Phoenix mission |
Organisation | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
Department | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Provision of micro machined substrates fir the study of the dust and soil of Mars |
Collaborator Contribution | NASA: provision of spacecraft JPL: provision of other parts of the instrument payload University of Neufchatel: provision of an atomic force microscope |
Impact | Investigation of the microstructure of the Martian surface on the Phoenix Mission |
Description | Phoenix mission |
Organisation | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Provision of micro machined substrates fir the study of the dust and soil of Mars |
Collaborator Contribution | NASA: provision of spacecraft JPL: provision of other parts of the instrument payload University of Neufchatel: provision of an atomic force microscope |
Impact | Investigation of the microstructure of the Martian surface on the Phoenix Mission |
Description | Phoenix mission |
Organisation | University of Neuchatel |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Provision of micro machined substrates fir the study of the dust and soil of Mars |
Collaborator Contribution | NASA: provision of spacecraft JPL: provision of other parts of the instrument payload University of Neufchatel: provision of an atomic force microscope |
Impact | Investigation of the microstructure of the Martian surface on the Phoenix Mission |
Description | BBC radio and television appearances |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Public outreach on Mars exploration |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |
Description | Participation in the BBC's How to put a Human on Mars |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | High level of public interest in terms of response to website Appearance at the Imperial Science Festival |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23349496 |