Sol 12 on onward general imaging, First TEGA delivery Options

[MahFL]

Brilliant !!

Cooking tonight !!!!, or a little later infact........

[jmknapp]

They don't expect to find much ice in this first sample, but it probably sublimated away if it was there, since it's been sitting in the sunlight so long. In fact, one hypothesis is that it finally went through the screen because of this sublimation of water.

[MahFL]

This place is dripping wet then ?

[jmknapp]

if... hypothesis...

[djellison]

This place is dripping wet then ?

Sublimation. Ice-to-Gas without liquid phase.

Doug

[climber]

Ok it's an hypothesis but what could have led to sublimation? Can't be the vibrations I guess. Can it be because the screen warmed up the grains in contact? The whole sample warmed up because of Phoenix?

[jmknapp]

I think it's because exposed ice (to air and sun) sublimates faster than if it was, say, one inch deep under the surface. A couple of times Boynton and Smith even mentioned the possibility that it was liquid.

BTW, by calling (800)925-0173 one can listen to a replay of the whole teleconference over the phone. Pressing 7 skips back 30 seconds, 8 pauses, and 9 skips ahead 30 seconds. Hit 9 several times at the beginning to skip over the music.

[JRehling]

If things are as they seem, then the structure at depth in this location consists of a dry surface where therefore ice does not persist and a deeper subsurface where it persists. It makes sense that if you raise material from below, you're going to move it from the location where it persists to a place where it doesn't.

In a bit more detail: The deeper you go subsurface, the more you weaken the seasonal and daily variations in temperature. You have permafrost where the annual temperature is below freezing AND deep enough for the cyclical temperatures to remain below freezing even at the maximum temperature. In contrast, you have a glacier where the maximum temperature is below freezing. (On Earth, you can even have glaciers where the maximum temperature is well above freezing, but that's because we have places where there is significant annual snowfall.)

The Phoenix landing site has permafrost, but not a glacier (or permanent polar cap). So it makes sense that when you dig things up at this, the warmest time of the year, you'll be exposing ice to temperatures at which ice cannot remain frozen.

[jmjawors]

Don't have much to add from the notes I took during the briefing. But here are a few things:

• The TEGA oven doors will remain open for a couple more days. The plans for tosol were already laid out and it was too late to change them after learning about the TEGA sample delivery. Tomorrow will be focused on the MECA OM receiving its sample.
• The "sprinkle test" (seen in the recent press release) took somewhere between 10-15 minutes and involved just 4-5 tbsps of material.

In addition to calling the phone number listed above, the briefing will be archived and posted on JPL's website by this evening, and that's probably an easier way to listen. Next briefing will be televised, Friday at 2pm central.

[ElkGroveDan]

IIRC international callers are unable to access U.S. 800 numbers

[jmjawors]

There is a number for international callers, but I don't know what it is. I'll see if I can find out if anyone wants it.

edit - No luck. I don't really know of too many places to look for it. It's mentioned at the end of the briefing, so once that's posted online you can hear it. But of course, if you're listening to the online version there's really no need for the number, so....

[jmknapp]

IIRC international callers are unable to access U.S. 800 numbers

US/Canada can use the 800 number
others can use (402)998-0031

One more thing to add from the teleconference: Dr. Bill Boynton said he found out that the oven was full about 1 hour before their "mid-point" status meeting where the moderator goes around the table asking the status of each instrument. He decided to keep it quiet until that meeting and just dropped it at the end of his status report, whereupon everyone erupted in cheers and a standing ovation, and Boynton played "Shake Shake Shake" which he had cued up on his laptop. One reporter asked: "were people dancing?" and Boynton replied: "*I* was."

[jamescanvin]

Very nicely composed sequence taken tosol.



James

[algorimancer]

Very nicely composed sequence taken tosol.
...

Looks like the solar panels are getting a bit dusty already. Probably all that dirt they're flinging about

[djellison]

Very nicely composed sequence taken tosol.

**** me that's a nice mosaic.