Not only is NASA,the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, going to attempt to put another lander on Mars, but this time their doing it live on the Internet for all to see.
According to Michael Learmonth of Silicon Valley Insider, starting at 6 PM EST today, people can head to NASA’s website, or Second Life, to watch as NASA attempts to put the Phoenix Mars Lander down on solid ground. I only say “attempts” as missions to Mars have had a checkered past over the years, but the twin rovers of Spirit and Opportunity have certainly proven it can be done. If successful, the first message from Phoenix will be received at 8 PM EST to let mission control know that the lander has in fact touched down and the status of its components.
Phoenix will be landing in the northern arctic region of the planet where an ice layer is known to exist below the surface soil. The lander will be able to dig down to this layer, scoop up samples to put inside of its on board ovens, and then analyze the vapors to determine the mixture of liquid. In addition to this portion of the mission, it will also use an attached weather station to see what the climate is like in the far north, and use a mast-mounted camera to take pictures of the surrounding landscape.
The mission is expected to last 90 “sols”, or approximately 92 Earth days. As a possible comparison of Phoenix’s fortunes on Mars, Spirit and Opportunity were expected to last only 90 sols, but are now at 1562 and 1541 respectively.
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