NASA approved the Phoenix mission in response to the 2002 discovery by the orbiting Odyssey spacecraft that the Martian poles have a layer of ice near the surface. Rather than wheels, Phoenix has a small backhoe to dig through the soil and scoop up ice samples. It also has a variety of science instruments to test the ice and soil and determine their components. The most pressing question on scientists' minds: Are there organics? "The discovery of organic materials, which haven't been found on Mars yet -- in ice or in soil -- would be an amazing discovery," said Arvidson, a planetary scientist with Washington University in St. Louis. "It would probably lead to a replanning of the Mars mission architecture for the next decade." Scientists are chipping away at one of the fundamental questions of human existence: Is life unique on Earth or does it exist elsewhere in the universe? As far as we know, water is one of life's essential ingredients. NASA's previous journeys to Mars have revealed water was once as plentiful on Earth's neighbor as it is on the home planet. With Phoenix, scientists hope to get a look at what was left behind after the surface liquids vanished. Discovery News will be blogging live from the Phoenix flight control center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., beginning Thursday, May 22. Related Links: Irene Klotz's blog: Free Space |
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