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Phoenix Mars Lander To Begin Rasping Ice Shavings
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Wed Jul 16, 2008 08:55 AM
from the can't-wait-to-sand-it dept.
from the can't-wait-to-sand-it dept.
Rob writes with an excerpt from an article at spacefellowship.com: "A powered rasp on the back of the robotic arm scoop of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is being tested for the first time on Mars in gathering sample shavings of ice.
The lander has used its arm in recent days to clear away loose soil from a subsurface layer of hard-frozen material and create a large enough area to use the motorized rasp in a trench informally named 'Snow White.'
The Phoenix team prepared commands early Tuesday for beginning a series of tests with the rasp later in the day. Engineers and scientists designed the tests to lead up to, in coming days, delivering a sample of icy soil into one of the lander's laboratory ovens.
'While Phoenix was in development, we added the rasp to the robotic arm design specifically to grind into very hard surface ice,' said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 'This is the exactly the situation we find we are facing on Mars, so we believe we have the right tool for the job. Honeybee Robotics in New York City did a heroic job of designing and delivering the rasp on a very short schedule.'" I still can't get enough of pictures of a little hunk of metal on Mars.
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s.bots writes "Straight from the horse's mouth, NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has identified water in a soil sample. Hopefully this exciting news will boost interest in the space program and further exploration of the Martian surface." Clearly, this has long been suspected, but now Martian water's been (in the words of William Boynton, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer) "touched and tasted."
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Universe's most expensive snow cone (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Universe's most expensive snow cone (Score:5, Funny)
In my day, we ate our rust-flavored snow cones and we liked 'em!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
In my day, we ate our rust-flavored snow cones and we liked 'em!
In my day they we didn't have the snow, they were just paper cones filled with rust!
Re: (Score:2)
Jesus, first huffing and now this. Will these youngsters ever learn?
I predict a short life if he continues on this road.
Sublimation? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Sublimation? (Score:5, Interesting)
MarsPhoenix: Team wants to see how quickly test shavings sublimate (turn to vapor) to help them estimate how quickly I need to move real samples to oven.
Parent
Re:Sublimation? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Sublimation? (Score:5, Interesting)
I would hope that NASA considered this already. I imagine that the rasp will loosen a sufficient enough quantity so that the ice won't completely sublimate by the time it reaches the testing oven. Sure some will, but hopefully not all of it.
Also, I believe what is important here is not necessarily the H2O ice itself, but what else is contained within it. Even if the ice sublimates, all the minerals, salts, and creepy-crawlies should be left behind.
Parent
Is Slashdot NASA's RSS feed? (Score:2, Insightful)
This is the second story today on the Mars Lander. How many more will we see? Sure it's interesting, but Phoenix can't be the only news on this site.
Re:Is Slashdot NASA's RSS feed? (Score:5, Funny)
You read it wrong. We are "News for Mars, Stuff that Gathers", you insensitive clod.
Parent
Picture quality (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
How do we get excellent color pics of the eguipment and surroundings and everytime there's some interesting stuff like the ice it's in black and white?
How many colors one expects to see on a martian ice rasping ?
Re:Picture quality (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Pap Smear (Score:5, Funny)
Wait ... Rasp ... Snow White's trench ... Mars is getting a pap smear! She's really into preventative medicine.
Re: (Score:2)
I can't wait for videos of when they start drilling into it.
Ice shavings (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Fuck everything, we're doing five blades!
I don't care if the engineer has to put one vertical!
More pictures from NASA (Score:3, Interesting)
There are some more good photos of the pre- and post-launch rover up at www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/new-latest-images-collection_archive_1.html [nasa.gov]. I especially like this one [nasa.gov] - I'd thought the rover was quite a bit smaller than that!
Re: (Score:2)
Re:What makes this rasp extra special? (Score:5, Insightful)
What I find interesting is the ongoing semantic deterioration of the word heroic.
All hail our heroic... ahm... rasp deliverers!
Parent
Not only are they heroic... (Score:2)
They are also modest and humble.
There is absolutely no mention of all those technicians that gave their lives so that Phoenix Mars Lander could get it's rasp on time.
We should all honor them with a moment of silence and contemplation about how many men and women are no longer with us cause they gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Those greatest among us, that willingly fell in dozens - for each single one of the rasp's teeth.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
All hail our heroic... ahm... rasp deliverers!
I for one welcome our heroic... OH FUCK IT!
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
On the other hand, after 9/11, everybody knows the meaning of heroes. Or do they?
Hmm, let me think who the people consider heroes...
Professionals who risked their lives entering a disaster area to rescue people... Yes.
Civilians who rushed to the scene to do whatever they could to help... Perhaps.
Politico who stood around with a bullhorn telling people to keep doing what they already were doing... No.
Yeah, I think everyone has a pretty good grip on what constitutes a hero. :)
Re:let's see the european space agency do that (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the ESA does quite well.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Sounds like a date I once had...