Video de Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter sent back spectacular first images of the landed Phoenix from orbit, views from the Phoenix lander of where it will work for the next three months, and a preliminary weather report
A newly processed image from the high-resolution camera known as HiRISE on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a full-resolution view of the Phoenix parachute and lander during its May 25 descent, with Heimdall crater in the background
Phoenix appears to be descending into the 10 kilometer crater, but is actually 20 kilometers in front of the crater, said Alfred S McEwen
HiRISE has taken a new color image of Phoenix on the ground about 22 hours after it landed It shows the parachute attached to the back shell, the heat shield and the lander itself against red Mars The parachute and lander are about 300 meters apart
Commands to be sent to the lander Wednesday morning include taking more pictures of the surroundings and making the first movements of the mission's crucial robotic arm
A covering that had shielded the arm from microbes during its last few months before launch had not fully retracted on landing day, May 25, but it moved farther from the arm during the following day
The biobarrier had relaxed more and allows more clearance, but it was not a major concern either way, said Fuk Li
During the next three months, the arm will dig into soil near the lander and deliver samples of soil and ice to laboratory instruments on the lander deck Following today's commands, its movements will begin with unlatching the wrist, then moving the arm upwards in a stair-step manner
Peter Smith was delighted with new images of the workspace The workspace is ideal for us because it looks very diggable We're very happy to see just a few rocks scattered in the digging area
The Phoenix weather station, provided by the Canadian Space Agency, was activated within the first hour after landing on Mars, and measurements are now being recorded continuously The data from the first 18 hours after landing have been transmitted back to the science team, and they have provided a weather report The temperature ranged between a minimum of minus 80 degrees Celsius in the early morning and a maximum of minus 30 degrees Celsius in the afternoon The average pressure was 855 millibars The wind speed was 20 kilometers per hour, out of the northeast The skies were clear More instruments will be activated over the coming days, and the weather report will expand to include measurements of humidity and visibility
Phoenix Mars Lander Digging Area
Comentarios del video
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gamepunker Thanks for the vids ! what do you think they will find?...
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stardustme Thank you Bruno for all the vids I am a subscriber and am showing the...
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BrunoTheQuestionable I hope they find them informative )
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