Phoenix Weathers Dust Storm

MARSDAILY

This is an image of Mars taken from orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Mars Color Imager (MARCI). The Red Planet's polar ice-cap is in the middle of the image. Captured in this image is a 37,000 square-kilometer (almost 23,000 miles) dust storm that moved counter-clockwise through the Phoenix landing site on Oct 11, 2008, or Sol 135 of the mission. Viewing this image as if it were the face of a clock, Phoenix is a shown as a small white dot, located at about 10 AM. The storm, which had already passed over the landing site earlier in the day, is located at about 9:30 AM. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems

by Staff Writers
Pasadena CA (SPX) Oct 15, 2008
The Phoenix Lander over the weekend successfully weathered a regional dust storm that temporarily lowered its solar power, and the team is back investigating the Red Planet's northern plains.

The increasing opacity in the atmosphere from the storm decreased the power reaching the Phoenix's solar arrays. So on Martian days, or sols, 135-136 of the mission (Oct. 11-12), Phoenix scientists and engineers curtailed many of the lander's science activities, such as collecting some data from its onboard science laboratories.

The 37,000 square-kilometer storm (nearly 23,000 miles) moved west to east, and weakened considerably by the time it reached the lander on Saturday, Oct. 11.

This tamer storm put the spacecraft in a better than expected situation, said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, the lead scientist for Phoenix's Robotic Arm.

Now the lander is busy meting out its power to analyze soil samples, collect atmospheric data, and conduct other activities before fall and winter stop Phoenix cold.

"Energy is becoming an issue, so we have to carefully budget our activities," Arvidson said.

The Phoenix team tracked the dust storm last week through images gleaned from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Mars Color Imager.

The imager's team estimated that after the dust storm passed through Phoenix's landing site on Saturday, the dust would gradually decrease this week.

This dust storm is a harbinger of more wintry and volatile weather to come. As Martian late summer turns into fall, the Phoenix team anticipates more dust storms, frost in trenches, and water-ice clouds. They look forward to collecting data and documenting this "most interesting season," Arvidson said.

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

MARSDAILY

The Sun Is Setting On Phoenix

Moffett Field CA (SPX) Oct 14, 2008
As fall approaches Mars' northern plains, NASA's Phoenix Lander continues to dig into the red planet's soil and deliver samples to its onboard science instruments for analysis.

ROCKET SCIENCE NASA And Air Force Work To Establish Hypersonic Science Centers Iran To Conduct First Satellite Launch Soon Outside View: Reusable rocket breakthrough Grant For Eco-Friendly Rocket Engine	LAUNCH PAD NASA To Webcast IBEX Spacecraft Launch New ASTRA 1M Satellite To Be Launched On 31 October Ariane 5 Is Readied For A Dual-Payload Mission India To Have New Launchpad For Proposed Manned Mission
SHUTTLE NEWS NASA's Space Shuttle Atlantis Rolls Off Launch Pad Monday NASA to discuss next shuttle mission Trouble on Hubble telescope delays space shuttle launch: NASA Astronauts Prepare For Countdown Rehearsal	STATION NEWS Expedition 18 Crew Docks With Space Station Expedition 18 Crew Launches From Baikonur Space station crew might not be expanded Expedition 18 Crew To Launch From Baikonur
SPACE TRAVEL Russian Space Tourist To Lose Out To Kazakh Astronaut India Not Engaged In Space Race With China NASA Selects ITT For Space Communications Network Services Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle	DRAGON SPACE China To Launch FY-4 Weather Satellite Around 2013 Shenzhou 7 Astronauts In Good Health Chinese Scientists Start Studying Samples From Shenzhou-7 Analysis: China space launch raises fears
ROBO SPACE VIPeR Robot Demonstrates Exceptional Agility iRobot Receives Order From TARDEC For iRobot Warrior 700 iRobot Awarded US Army Contract For Robotic Systems Robots Learn To Follow	MARSDAILY Phoenix Weathers Dust Storm Opportunity Takes A Victory Lap The Sun Is Setting On Phoenix NASA plans Mars launch next fall

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement