LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The Phoenix lander's first chemical sniffof Martian soil did not turn up any trace of the building blocks of life. Itsnext whiff could be its last.
Engineers said a short circuit that occurred last month inone of its test ovens designed to shake and bake minusculesoil samples could happen again when the instrument is turned on.
"Since there is no way to assess the probability ofanother short circuit occurring, we are taking the most conservative approachand treating the next sample ... as possibly our last," the NASA mission'schief scientist, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson, said in astatement Wednesday.
The landerdelivered its first soil sample scooped up from the surface to one of its ovenslast month. The experiment did not yield any ice or organics. Initially, theclumpy dirt could not fit through the oven's opening so scientists vibrated theinstrument several days to break it up. Engineers think the short circuitoccurred as a result of the repeated shakes.
Meanwhile, Phoenix's robotic arm was set to sprinkle soilparticles taken from a trench dubbed Snow White onto its microscope on Thursdayfor analysis. If there are leftovers, the rest will be dumped into its wetchemistry lab.
- Video: Digging on Mars
- Video: NASA's Phoenix: Rising to the Red Planet
- New Images: Phoenix on Mars!
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
