Archives for the 'Mars' Category
Phoenix Flash Memory Problem
Published on 19 Jun 2008 at 6:49 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under Mars.
According to a JPL press release, the Phoenix lander on Mars recently had an issue with its flash memory. You can read more about the incident on Emily Lakdawalla’s blog posting about it. Flash memory is a nonvolatile memory such as that used in memory sticks. The RAM on board the spacecraft loses data when […]
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Clumpy Soil
Published on 10 Jun 2008 at 1:45 pm.
4 Comments.
Filed under Mars.
The Phoenix lander is now well into its mission to study Mars. The first steps, of course, are to look around with the cameras. But, while the pretty pictures are what excite the public the most, scientists are much more excited about the other instruments on board the craft. These instruments will […]
White Stuff?
Published on 3 Jun 2008 at 3:21 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under Mars.
The Phoenix lander has deployed its robotic arm and has carefully scooped up a shovel full of Martian regolith (soil). The camera, of course, is only black and white, but to make it color, three images were taken of the soil as illuminated by three different color LEDs. The images were then […]
Sols on Mars
Published on 27 May 2008 at 12:48 am.
7 Comments.
Filed under Mars, time.
The Phoenix has been on Mars for one sol. Its nominal lifetime is 90 sols. So, what’s this “sol” thing that we keep talking about when we talk about Mars and the landers on its surface?
Put simply, a sol is a Martian day. Mars rotates a bit slower than Earth, so a […]
Phoenix is on Mars!
Published on 26 May 2008 at 12:18 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Mars.
The Phoenix Mars lander is down and initial data seems to show that the landing went very well, indeed. After landing, the spacecraft sent back telemetry showing that it had landed flat. It is within 1/4 to 1/3 of a degree from horizontal, indicating an extremely flat landing site (what we expected). […]
Landing Phoenix
Published on 25 May 2008 at 2:00 pm.
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Filed under Mars, space exploration.
In a few hours, the Phoenix will land on Mars. The chosen landing site is far into the northern plains. This is farther from the equator than any other spacecraft has successfully landed on Mars. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it can’t safely be done, just that it hasn’t been done […]
Phoenix near landing.
Published on 23 May 2008 at 11:57 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Mars, space exploration.
Wow, it’s been a long and difficult month for me. It has been one thing after another all month. As my regular readers can see, I have not been keeping up with Astroprof’s Page much this month. In fact, this has been the slackest month, I think, since I started blogging!
So, it […]
