Digging deep: NASA's Phoenix lander will dig beneath the surface to take the first direct samples of Martian water ice.

Credit: NASA/JPL

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WASHINGTON DC: Adverse weather has delayed the launch of the space probe Phoenix on its novel mission to dig in Martian soil for water and signs of life.

Weather conditions yesterday at Cape Canaveral in Florida, prevented fueling of the two-stage Delta II rocket atop which Phoenix was scheduled to blast off on Friday (see, New Mars lander will dig below surface, Cosmos Online, the U.S. space agency NASA said in a statement.

The launch will now take place on Saturday with a first attempt at 09:36am GMT (6:36pm Sydney time), and a second attempt, should it be needed, at 10:02am GMT (7:02pm Sydney time).

Extended launch window

The space probe's full launch window for its 680-million-kilometre mission to Mars extends until 24 August. Phoenix is programmed for a parachute and engine assisted landing on Mars' arctic region in May or June 2008, depending on its launch date.

Unlike NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity, which have been rolling under solar power across the Martian landscape for the past three years, Phoenix will stay put in one place on the Martian ground.

Equipped with seven scientific instruments, the probe will dig through Martian soil and permafrost for the first time in history to analyze ice and water content and seek any sign of past or present life on the red planet.

It will work under extreme weather conditions with temperatures ranging from a frigid low of minus 73°C to a high of minus 33°C.

The Phoenix space program is costing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration some US$420 million from launch to landing.