Earlythis morning Mars Phoenix Mission managers got some late breaking good news that the seventh attempt to vibrate the sticky Martian soil through the fine mesh screen and into the TEGA oven was a success! (The mesh has 1 mm holes and the soil was harder to get through them then expected.)
The very small oven now has enough soil to begin its multiple day heating of the sample to determine at what temperature carbon dioxide and water are released- a method that can help scientists identify the chemistry and mineralogy of the soil. Preliminary results could be in as soon as next week (yes, science does take time). This is the first of eight one-time-use ovens that will be used during the nominal 90 day mission.
"It's like putting flour through a sieve. Even though the flour is much smaller then the sieve, you have to bang on it to make it flow through," commented one Phoenix mission manager at University of Arizona.
Since they were not expecting the oven to be filled, today's commands (they have to be pre-sent using communication passes with the Mars orbiter relays) were focused instead on delivering a sample to the microscope. The microscope should get a sample today and do the first part of its scan ofthesample. If that goes well, it will send back pictures tomorrow.
University of Arizona scientists were thrilled at the news this morning that the first oven now had the 30 microliters (less then a teaspoon) needed to proceed with the experiment. Bill Boynton had some fun delivering the news to them too, which included a celebratory song. He said at least he was dancing to the rousing "Shake, Shake Shake" chorus, as the rest of the room erupted in cheers at the news. (I would have played Outkast's "Hey Ya!" but Bill still gets style points for playing rock music at a space science tag-up).
NASA's Phoenix Lander Has An Oven Full of Martian Soil [NASA]
SeeAlso:
- Phoenix Landing Rockets May Have Already Uncovered First Ice Sample
- Phoenix Lander Gets Ready to Dig Into Mars
- Phoenix Sends First Photos From Martian Arctic Surface
- Wired Science Scores Exclusive Twitter Interview with the Phoenix Lander
Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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