Mars Lander

I enjoy keeping up with NASA and what their progress is.  I live relatively close to Stennis Space Center, where they test the Shuttle engines and have begun testing the new engines that will take us back to the Moon.  If you can’t witness a Shuttle launch in Florida, this is the next best thing and I highly recommend it.

As most of you know, the Mars Lander Phoenix landed the other day and began procedures to start a study at the pole.  The primary mission will be to dig into the ice that is believed to be just under the surface, search for organic materials and study for future human visitation.  Breathtaking photos from the lander can be found at www.nasa.gov, along with more information on the mission.

Unfortunately, this lander will only be able to perform it’s duties for 3 months.  Unlike the roving landers that have been running around Mars for years now, even though they were only made to last for a few months.  The reason is because the poles on Mars do not get sunlight during the Winter months.  This will prevent the lander from receiving power with the solar arrays and shortly after the sun disappears, it will loose power and be covered in ice.

What are your thoughts on humans eventually colonizing Mars?  Will we see a manned mission to Mars in your lifetime?

The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith at the University of Arizona, Tucson, with project management at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and development partnership at Lockheed Martin, Denver. International contributions are provided by 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. Further information about Phoenix is online at http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix and http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu .

Future Missions:

GLAST Set to Launch June 3

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope will answer questions about super black hole systems, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays.

Hubble Servicing Mission 4

Astronauts return to Hubble to extend the life of one of NASA’s greatest observatories.

International Space Station

Learn about the next mission to the International Space Station.

LRO: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

LRO will launch in late 2008 to find safe landing sites, locate potential resources and demonstrate new technology.

SDO: Solar Dynamics Observatory  →

The Solar Dynamics Observatory, scheduled for launch in 2008, will help us understand the sun’s influence on Earth by studying the solar atmosphere at multiple wavelengths.