Unraveling Fundamental Questions in Planetary Science
“We will also try to decipher the climatic history of Mars via the chemical record left in the soil,” Sam Kounaves says. That history, he says, may hold vital clues and lessons for climate change on Earth.
With the Phoenix launching on its mission August 4, 2007, the plan is for it to reach Mars on May 25, 2008—digging underground ice and running laboratory tests to assess whether or not the Martian landing site would ever have sustained microbial life. With the Phoenix traveling at 74,200 mph in relation to the sun, it is functioning as expected with essential activities going as planned.
The name Sam Kounaves is well-known at the Tufts University in as a co-investigator on NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, in addition to applying extreme analytical chemistry to Martian atmospheric places on Earth, such as Death Valley, Antarctica, and Mars. Once the Phoenix lands on the Martian arctic plains in May of 2008, Kounaves will be the leading expert for the chemical analysis of Martian soil and ice. He is one of two dozen investigators on the Phoenix project, which is utilizing resources from international universities and companies.
Designed to study the history of water on Mars, the Phoenix will search for “complex organic molecules” in the Martian arctic icy soil. Once samples are taken, Sam Kounaves will chemically analysis the inorganic and electrochemical components of the soil’s constituents. He will also look at their relationship to Mars’ geochemistry regarding past and present, hoping it will hold some vital information about the present climate change going on Earth.
Made for the mission with specific tasks for a definite purpose, NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander incorporates NASA’s most highly advanced technology that has even been sent to Mars. Once this technology digs through the soil, delivering soil and ice samples to the experiments, Kounaves’ ream will receive the samples in order to find the signatures of life that are seen in organic and inorganic molecules, combined with concentrations.
Kounaves states their biggest surprise is that polar ice caps, permafrost, climate, and possibly liquid water exist on both Mars and Earth. “Scientists have been able to find microbes in Antarctica and miles underground where it was thought impossible for any life to exist.” With this in mind, Kounaves felt that if life existed on barren places on Earth, it could have possibly started on Mars and could still be there.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 12:25 am and is filed under Mission Objectives, Space Agency News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
