(Reuters) - La NASA extenderá su misión Phoenix en Marte hasta el invierno marciano.
Phoenix encontró evidencia de que la composición química de la arena que cubre la superficie de Marte es muy parecida a la del agua de mar, incrementando la evidencia de que al haber agua líquida pudo haber existido vida en la superficie de Marte.
El Phoenix que desde mayo aterrizó en el planeta rojo, ya ha operado por más tiempo del planeado y sus controladores dicen que van a aprovechar hasta la más mínima "gota" de energía que los paneles solares del aparato produzcan.
Se planeó que Phoenix se quedara solamente 90 días marcianos, llamados sols, hasta ahora lleva ya 120. Aunque, el sol se ocultará totalmente en el horizonte hasta abril, Phoenix está recibiendo menos energía solar, después del verano.
En julio, el equipo del Phoenix reportó que se encontró una prueba definitiva de agua en Marte, después de que el robot obtuviera una prueba raspando el hielo. También encontró perclorato, que es un componente químico usado por las plantas y microbios, y se envió una imagen de una prueba de arena roja de la superficie de Marte tomada a través de un microscopio de fuerza atómica. Los últimos análisis muestran evidencia de un químico de carbono, probablemente calcio. Otros análisis han demostrado que la arena de Marte es tan alcalina como el agua de mar, con un pH de 8.3, lo que proporciona más evidencia de que pudo haber habido vida en Marte.
Los científicos que controlan el proyecto dijeron que intentaría abrir un micrófono para escuchar Marte por primera vez.
Página de la Universidad de Arizona
martes, 30 de septiembre de 2008
Mar en Marte...
viernes, 1 de agosto de 2008
Hay agua en Marte!!! se extiende la misión...
NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.
"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."
Mission Overview Fact Sheet (PDF)
Sphere: Related Contentjueves, 17 de julio de 2008
Phoenix en Marte! Latest news...
Tenía muy abandonada la misión de Phoenix en Marte, esta maravillosa fotografía fue tomada por la European Space Agency's Mars Express Probe.
Aquí los últimos boletines de prensa de la misión conjunta Nasa y Universidad de Arizona:
July 16, 2008NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Rasps Frozen Layer, Collects Sample
July 15, 2008NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander To Begin Rasping Frozen Layer
July 14, 2008NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Extending Trench
July 10, 2008NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Uses Soil Probe And Swiss Scope
July 08, 2008Sample-collection Tests By NASA'S Phoenix Lander Continue
July 07, 2008NASA's Phoenix Lander Delivers Soil-chemistry Sample
July 02, 2008Phoenix To Bake Ice-rich Sample Next Week
July 01, 2008Phoenix Scrapes 'Almost Perfect' Icy Soil For Analysis
June 27, 2008Phoenix Scrapes To Icy Soil In Wonderland
June 26, 2008Phoenix Returns Treasure Trove For Science
sábado, 21 de junio de 2008
Phoenix confirma la existencia de agua congelada en Marte!
No podía dejar pasar este momento....aquí las primeras fotografías del hielo encontrado en Marte:
NASA Phoenix Mars Lander Confirms Frozen Water
06.20.08
These color images were acquired by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on the 21st and 25th days of the mission, or Sols 20 and 24 (June 15 and 18, 2008). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University
› Full image and caption
› Latest press and raw images
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TUCSON, Ariz. -- Scientists relishing confirmation of water ice near the surface beside NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander anticipate even bigger discoveries from the robotic mission in the weeks ahead. "It is with great pride and a lot of joy that I announce today that we have found proof that this hard bright material is really water ice and not some other substance," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, during a Friday news briefing to announce the confirmation of water ice. "The truth we're looking for is not just looking at ice. It is in finding out the minerals, chemicals and hopefully the organic materials associated with these discoveries," said Smith The mission has the right instruments for analyzing soil and ice to determine whether the local environment just below the surface of far-northern Mars has ever been favorable for microbial life. Key factors are whether the water ever becomes available as a liquid and whether organic compounds are present that could provide chemical building blocks and energy for life. Phoenix landed on May 25 for a Mars surface mission planned to last for three months. "These latest developments are a major accomplishment and validation of the Mars Program's 'follow-the-water' exploration framework," said Doug McCuistion at NASA Headquarters, Washington, director of the space agency's Mars Program. "This specific discovery is the result of an outstanding team working with a robust spacecraft that has allowed them to work ahead of their original science schedule." The key new evidence is that chunks of bright material exposed by digging on June 15 and still present on June 16 had vaporized by June 19. "This tells us we've got water ice within reach of the arm, which means we can continue this investigation with the tools we brought with us," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station, lead scientist for Phoenix's Surface Stereo Imager camera. He said the disappearing chunks could not have been carbon-dioxide ice at the local temperatures because that material would not have been stable for even one day as a solid. The disappearing chunks were in a trench to the northwest of the lander. A hard material, possibly more ice, but darker than the bright material in the first trench, has been detected in a second trench, to the northeast of the lander. Scientists plan next to have Phoenix collect and analyze surface soil from a third trench near the second one, and later to mechanically probe and sample the hard layer. "We have in our ice-attack arsenal backhoeing, scraping and rasping, and we'll try all of these," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, lead scientist for Phoenix's Robotic Arm. Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, reported that an issue reported earlier this week related to producing thousands of duplicate copies of some file-maintenance data files has been diagnosed, and a corrective software patch will be sent to Phoenix within a few days. Science operations continue in the meantime, though all data collected must be relayed to Earth on the same Martian day it is collected, instead of being stored to non-volatile memory when Phoenix powers down to conserve energy during the Martian night. Images sent back Friday morning from Mars showed that the doors to the Number 5 oven on the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer opened part way. The instrument team is working to understand the consequences of this action. The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith of the University of Arizona with project management at JPL and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, located in Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
For more about Phoenix, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html and http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/.
jueves, 5 de junio de 2008
martes, 3 de junio de 2008
Huella de Phoenix
El Phoenix ha tomado su primera muestra del suelo de marte. En la foto se puede ver el brazo del robot y la huella que ha dejado. En las fotografías del material, aparecen pedazos de algo brillante que puede ser sal o hielo!
This color image, acquired by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's Surface Stereo Imager on Sol 7, the seventh day of the mission (June 1, 2008), shows the so-called "Knave of Hearts" first-dig test area to the north of the lander. The Robotic Arm's scraping blade left a small horizontal depression above where the sample was taken.The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University
One week after landing on far-northern Mars, NASA Phoenix spacecraft lifted its first scoop of Martian soil as a test of the lander's Robotic Arm. The practice scoop was emptied onto a designated dump area on the ground after the Robotic Arm Camera photographed the soil inside the scoop. The Phoenix team plans to have the arm deliver its next scoopful, later this week, to an instrument that heats and sniffs the sample to identify ingredients. A glint of bright material appears in the scooped up soil and in the hole from which it came. "That bright material might be ice or salt. We're eager to do testing of the next three surface samples collected nearby to learn more about it," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, Phoenix co-investigator for the Robotic Arm. The camera on the arm examined the lander's first scoop of Martian soil. "The camera has its own red, green and blue lights, and we combine separate images taken with different illumination to create color images," said the University of Arizona's Pat Woida, senior engineer on the Phoenix team.
The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith at the University of Arizona with project management by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
For more about Phoenix, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html and http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/.
sábado, 31 de mayo de 2008
Stephen Hawking. Sobre su teoría de los Black Holes
Y todavía dicen que dios existe...
No se que le habrá hecho Hawking para que lo castigue de esa forma.
La ciencia y la religión no se llevan, no sé porqué Discovery termina con la biblia.
Professor Stephen Hawking "Why We Should Go Into Space"
C-span recorded the whole lecture as well you can view it along with Lucy Hawking's wonderful lecture on Science Education here: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/cam...
For more information on Stephen Hawkinghttp://www.hawking.org.uk/
For more information on NASA's 50th Anniversary http://www.nasa.gov/50th/home/index.html
For a link to the Scilands blog to learn more about this budding science community in Second Life http://www.scilands.org/
Qué tipo de vida puede encontrarse en Marte?
Your Question Has Been Answered
The question you submitted to the Phoenix Mars Mission ask the team has been answered.
Your question was: What kind of life can be found in Mars?
The answer to your question is: Life as we know it requires liquid water, but not necessarily its continuous presence. Phoenix will investigate a hypothesis that some ice in the soil of the landing site may become unfrozen and biologically available at times during warmer parts of long-period climate cycles. Life might persist in some type of dormant microbial form for millions of years between thaws, if other conditions were right. The spacecraft is neither equipped nor intended to detect past or present life. However, in addition to studying the status and history of water at the site, Phoenix will look for other conditions favorable to life. One condition considered essential for life as we know it is the presence of molecules that include carbon and hydrogen. These are known as organic compounds, whether they come from biological sources or not. They can be produced without life, but they include the chemical building blocks of life as well as substances that can serve as an energy source, or food, for life. Phoenix would be able to detect small amounts and identify them.
We appreciate your interest in the Phoenix Mars Mission!
viernes, 30 de mayo de 2008
Qué son 46.5 billion light years?
Hubble Deep Field: The Most Imp. Image Ever Taken
Los 4 minutos más largos de un ingeniero...
Toma en cuenta que Phoenix partió en agosto de 2007...
Briefing. La Misión Phoenix.
jueves, 29 de mayo de 2008
Hubo un principio del tiempo?
Hawking, Stephen, Historia del Tiempo: Del big bang a los agujeros negros.
Cuando me enteré del aterrizaje de Phoenix en Marte, me acordé que tenía en el librero un librito que compré en diciembre para leer en el avión hacia México. Sin embargo, viajé entre el caucus de Iowa y la primaria de New Hampshire y había tanta prensa interesante que el librito se quedó en mi backpack. Ahora, decía, lo recordé y lo empecé a leer, voy a la mitad, solamente tiene unas 150 páginas. Es una maravilla! realmente lo recomiendo porque, como dice el prólogo de Carl Sagan, pocos estamos enterados sobre el lugar en donde vivimos, sabemos dónde está África, pero no sabemos dónde está la tierra, si hubo un principio del tiempo, de dónde viene y a dónde va el universo, qué es la teoría de la relatividad, qué es la teoría cuántica, qué es un hoyo negro, cómo hemos llegado al conocimiento actual del universo sin ni siquiera poder verlo!, si existen otras galaxias y si el tiempo se va a acabar un día. Todo eso y más nos explica Hawking en 150 páginas para legos.
Me parece algo fantástico que pueda describirse un universo infinito que jamás podremos ver. Por eso, el hecho de que ahora haya plantada en la superficie de Marte una sonda terrestre, es un hecho sin precedentes para los científicos de todos los tiempos --desde la antigua Grecia!-, quienes a partir de la ciencia pura y dura, nos han dicho qué hay allá arriba y hoy, se esté comprobando -o falseando-.
Stephen Hawking ocupa la silla de Isaac Newton, como Profesor Lucasiano de Matemáticas y es conocido por sus teorías sobre los hoyos negros, la gravedad cuántica y la cosmología teorética.
lunes, 26 de mayo de 2008
Se confirmará si existen los marcianos!
Esta fotografía es real.
Phoenix Lands on Mars
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft landed in the northern polar region of Mars today to begin three months of examining a site chosen for its likelihood of having frozen water within reach of the lander's robotic arm.
Radio signals received at 4:53:44 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53:44 p.m. Eastern Time) confirmed the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown 15 minutes earlier. The signals took that long to travel from Mars to Earth at the speed of light.
Image Credit: NASA, JPL=Caltech, University of Arizona
La misión es conducida por la Universidad de Arizona a nombre de la NASA.
La sonda "Phoenix", tras recorrer 679 millones de kilómetros, se posó este domingo en una zona del polo norte de Marte, donde iniciará ahora su misión de recoger muestras de hielo y determinar la existencia de material orgánico.
Con la llegada de Phoenix a Marte se destruirá -o confirmará!- uno de los más grandes mitos de la humanidad: los marcianos. 
Ahora tendremos que usar el lenuaje correcto: extraterrestres, para referirnos a lo que coloquialmente siempre hemos denominado marciano. Pues nunca faltará el niño listo "En marte no hay marcianos mamá, la NASA ya lo confirmó".
Ya me pasó con Plutón.
Que pasará con Marvin?
Hablando en serio: La misión Phoenix buscará señales de vida en el suelo de la zona ártica de Marte y para ello tiene una difícil tarea que depende del tiempo y de las condiciones atmosféricas.
Te recomiendo que veas el video que explica la misión es impresionante y emocionante...
Estamos solos en el Universo? 
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
This image, one of the first captured by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, shows the vast plains of the northern polar region of Mars. The flat landscape is strewn with tiny pebbles and shows polygonal cracking, a pattern seen widely in Martian high latitudes and also observed in permafrost terrains on Earth. The polygonal cracking is believed to have resulted from seasonal freezing and thawing of surface ice. Phoenix touched down on the Red Planet at 4:53 p.m. Pacific Time (7:53 Eastern Time), May 25, 2008, in an arctic region called Vastitas Borealis, at 68 degrees north latitude, 234 degrees east longitude. This image was taken shortly after landing by the spacecraft's Surface Stereo Imager. The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.
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