Phoenix Site |
Phoenix Site |
Jan 22 2005, 01:21 PM
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Rover Driver Group: Members Posts: 1015 Joined: 4-March 04 Member No.: 47 |
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Aug 31 2005, 01:56 PM
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
"As the ice starts advancing off Mars’ northern polar cap and moves southward, Phoenix will become entombed in several feet of solid carbon dioxide. The lander is not designed to survive being buried in solid ice for six to seven months, Smith said."
LOL - didnt think it would be that bad! The exhaust plume contamination of local soil was something I read about w.r.t. MPL years ago - so I'm sure it's not something they've just thought of. Doug |
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Aug 31 2005, 02:17 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 290 Joined: 26-March 04 From: Edam, The Netherlands Member No.: 65 |
QUOTE (djellison @ Aug 31 2005, 01:56 PM) "As the ice starts advancing off Mars’ northern polar cap and moves southward, Phoenix will become entombed in several feet of solid carbon dioxide. The lander is not designed to survive being buried in solid ice for six to seven months, Smith said." LOL - didnt think it would be that bad! The exhaust plume contamination of local soil was something I read about w.r.t. MPL years ago - so I'm sure it's not something they've just thought of. Doug Ah, that's good to read. But what can be done ? Nothing i'm afraid. I think the physical disturbance of the soil (stripping it's top layer) is probably not such a big issue. The real fear of it probably lies in the detection of organics and the interference that hydrazine and by-products could have on the measurements within the chromatograph column. I don't know enough about the field to know if this can be subtrancted easily from the rest. Probably the mix of unburned fuel and the products that are left after combustion are a very complex mix of organics that are hard to distinct from (possible) original (Martian) soil organic matter. The ice layer of a meter or so also surpises me highly ! The thing will probably not wake up afterwards. It would surprise me if it did......maybe it's like freezing wet laundry:if it thaws without motion, it's intact afterwards. If it is moved (especially cables) in a brittle state, it snaps instantly. Don't know at which temp. this happens for the materials used. And most probable, the electronics itself will not survive months of exposure to -120 C. Does it have radioactive heaters like MER ? |
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