Digging for gold: In a test, phoenix's robotic arm took a scoopful of soil and revealed light-coloured material that could be ice.
Credit: NASA
WASHINGTON: NASA probe Phoenix is ready to dig its backhoe-like arm into the Martian arctic soil for samples that may hold signs of water and organic molecules indicative of life.
Nearly two weeks after landing on the Red Planet, the Phoenix will cut its first hole into the Martian permafrost in the landmark mission to probe for the conditions supportive of life.
"We are preparing to acquire samples with the robotic arm," said Chris Lewicki of the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, which is running the Phoenix mission.
The first sample will come from the top layer of soil in one of three holes near the lander. It will be dug up with Phoenix's 2.35-metre titanium and aluminium backhoe-shaped arm, with a scoop on the end.
Big chunk of ice
Photographs have already revealed what appears to be significant ice, uncovered when dust was blown off the surface by the lander's rockets.
Lewicki said the samples would be transferred by the arm to the thermal and evolved gas analyser (TEGA) aboard Phoenix, one of several instruments designed to analyse soil samples.
"We'll clarify tonight that we've got an acceptable amount of sample," he said, before moving the sample to the TEGA, which will cook the sample with extremely high heat to see if it can detect the presence of carbon and hydrogen, key to sustaining life.
Phoenix landed on the Red Planet's northern polar region on May 25 for a three-month task of inspecting the soil for the right combination of water in its ice form and minerals that would demonstrate the planet could or can support basic microbial life.
Since the landing Phoenix has been recording images of the stark surrounding landscape and measuring the atmospheric conditions and weather.
The mission continues to be hampered by glitches in communications between Phoenix and the Odyssey Mars orbiter, which relays instructions and data between Earth and the lander. NASA has been using as a backup the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for communications.
"We expect the next day or two, we'll be able to resume service" with Odyssey, said Chad Edwards, JPL chief telecommunications engineer.
