Poor TEGA... It just doesn't seem to be working quite as intended... I sure hope they can get all of the problems resolved...

I hope you're not saying this based on something you've heard about the second attempt to get sample into the oven.

Hey did ya'll notice the salt shaker in that picture ?

Oh surely not. I can't imagine anyone here who'd be so cruel as to drop a hint about a development they've heard about but can't share with the world yet -

Oh hello Jason, didn't see you there...!

Is a press conference scheduled today? Seems like there's a lot of fodder for questions, given that TEGA is kind of the central instrument of this mission, such that "Poor TEGA" = "Poor Phoenix."

Yep...

Media Update
NASA and the University of Arizona, Tucson, will hold a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT) on Monday, June 9, to report on the latest news from NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission.

How many of the original science objectives can be met without TEGA?

Whoa, people... Getting a bit negative, aren't we?

I was just thinking that... come on guys, first sample dump, first oven, first everything. That's why there are more than one on there; it was very unlikely everything would go perfectly the first time. I reckon the Phoenix team reading this need our support and encouragement now. Keep at it!

Edit: interesting article here...

There are plenty of positive things about Phoenix of course. We have colour and 3d pics of the northern tundra. Pretty sure we see ice under the lander. Temperatures, pressures and wind direction. Microscope views of the dust/dirt. I am sure I missed a few things too.

To head that off, I think there's just about zero chance that the soil problem will be an impasse. If the arm can dig the stuff up in the first place, it can smash it up for at least some of the TEGA ovens. Barring some OTHER problem, the clumpiness problem will be solved.

Seeing that ice layer under the lander is a big win by itself. But as far as the scenery goes, the thrill ends at having another poster. The science of returning a panorama of this landscape is slim to none. This mission is all about TEGA and MECA.

And with MRO up there, we can get a decent panoramic reconstruction of any spot on the planet -- only the extreme foreground needs in situ imaging.

I gave another Outreach talk this morning, at a tiny, village school here in Cumbria - just 30 or so kids in the whole school! - and treated them to my "Tourist's Guide To The Universe". Thanks to the already mentioned generosity of the Phoenix Outreach team I was able to give all my group of 22 kids a Phoenix sticker, which they were delighted with (as was their teacher, who somehow acquired one for herself...!). During the talk's Mars section I mentioned Phoenix, obviously, and mentioned the problem with TEGA, explaining that the dust wasn't falling through the grille. One student suggested - without any prompting, which I thought was very cool - using the robot arm scoop to pat at the dust and push some through. But another suggested a rather radical alternative:

"Why don't they scoop up one of those stones", he suggested, pointing at the rocks scattered around the lander, "and drop it onto the dust? That would shake it up, wouldn't it?"



So, there you have it, Phoenix team, your solution. Obvious really!

But not a televised press conference?

Nope, but you can still listen to it: http://www.nasa.gov/news/media/newsaudio/index.html

Thanks!