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Planetary Society Set To Launch First Library Of Mars
Pasadena CA (SPX) Jul 31, 2007 The Planetary Society's silica-glass DVD is ready to launch to Mars on board Phoenix, NASA's newest Scout mission led by Principal Investigator Peter Smith at the University of Arizona. Attached to the deck of the Phoenix lander, the DVD includes Visions of Mars, a collection of 19th and 20th century stories, essays and art inspired by the Red Planet, as well as the names of over a quarter million inhabitants of Earth. The disk will appear in some of the calibration images that Phoenix sends back from the Martian surface. "Since The Planetary Society's disk should last for centuries on Mars, we hope astronauts at some future date will enjoy the visionary works we have sent in this first Martian library," said Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society, who conceived the idea for Visions of Mars. "These tales and images have inspired generations about the wonder of space, including many men and women who are now researchers and engineers in the space program." This first library on Mars contains materials that represent 20 nations and cultures. Visions of Mars includes works by The Planetary Society's co-founder Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Kim Stanley Robinson, Arthur C. Clarke, Percival Lowell and many more. Phoenix will be the first lander to explore the Martian arctic, landing near 70 degrees north latitude. Designed to search for and study water ice, the spacecraft is a fixed lander with a suite of advanced instruments and a robotic arm that can dig up to half a meter into the soil. The Phoenix team hopes to uncover clues in the icy soil of the Martian arctic about the history of near surface ice and the planet's potential for habitability. Tune into a Planetary Radio interview about Phoenix with Peter Smith. The first possible launch date for Phoenix is August 3, 2007, with a landing slated for 2008. This will be The Planetary Society's second attempt to send Visions of Mars to its namesake planet. It was originally created by the Society to launch aboard Russia's Mars 96 spacecraft, which failed shortly after launch. The library has been updated and risen from the ashes for its Phoenix flight. It should be able to last at least 500 years on Mars, so there will be plenty of time for a future generation to discover and enjoy the works included on the DVD. The Phoenix Mission is led by Principal Investigator Peter H. Smith of the University of Arizona, with project management at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a development partnership with Lockheed Martin Space systems. International contributions for Phoenix are provided by the Canadian Space Agency, the University of Neuchatel (Switzerland), the University of Copenhagen, and the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Related Links Phoenix at Arizona Phoenix at JPL Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
Seeking Mars Survival Secrets
Princeton NJ (SPX) Jul 06, 2007David Smith always wondered whether other planets might harbor life, so when he actually got the opportunity to investigate, he jumped at it. His decision launched him on a year-long mission, leading him to the Kennedy Space Center and back. Now, after months exploring whether Earth bacteria can survive on the surface of Mars, he has returned with findings that could help NASA plan better missions to the red planet. |
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